The day you die
by Achillea
Summary: Konoha is under war and all the shinobi are scattered throughout the villages. What will happen when they see their comrades dying one by one? Pairings: NejiTen, ShikaIno, KibaHina, more if requested [Sort of sequel to A Promise not Kept]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am not owning

The day you die

Shikamaru stared at the people within the prison walls. Civilians, shinobi, it all didn't matter then. All that mattered was to escape.

'Barely possible considering the situation.' He thought, looking at the meager bits of food offered. After all, the Rock Nin would hardly care if they lived.

Shikamaru shakily tried to stand up, but it was a futile attempt. His body was weak from the weeks of misuse and abuse it had endured.

"God this is bad. If I stay, it is an almost certain death. And if I try to leave…"

At this point, one of the guards opened the door and shoved a few other people into his cell. Two of them appeared to be unconscious. The third person opened her eyes.

"Shika!" Ino threw herself onto Shikamaru, sobbing into his chest. "Shika, I found you."

"Huh?" he asked, slightly confused at Ino's un-Ino like behavior.

"Shika, my daddy's dead." Ino continued sobbing and clutching Shikamaru's shirt. He awkwardly patted her until she quieted down to sniffles.

Shikamaru gently pulled Ino away from him and crawled to the other two bodies. It was Kiba and Tenten.

"Tenten? Kiba?"

Tenten groggily opened her eyes. "Shikamaru! Where is Neji?" she asked, in a voice slightly laced with panic.

"He's not with you?"

"No."

"He escaped with Lee." Kiba said warily, resting on his elbows.

Shikamaru sighed with relief, until he realized the implication, "Are they being hunted down right now?"

"They…" Kiba stopped to double over and cough, his shoulders shaking with the force. "They may be back in Suna."

"Will Neji be alright?" Tenten asked, sounding like a lost child. Her eyes were wide open and she was trembling.

"I'm sure Neji can take care of himself," said Shikamaru, reassuring her. Tenten nodded, although she still looked terrified.

"Shikamaru? I-I've g-got to t-t-tell you s-something." Ino stumbled over her words. The said shinobi looked at her questioningly.

"C-Chouji's dead."

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"WHAT?" Shikamaru asked disbelievingly.

"He…our living conditions were horrible. There wasn't enough food. I tried to give him some of mine, but he wouldn't take any. Even as he grew weakened and pale, he still always helped me. Chouji saved me from those shinobi." Ino began sobbing all over again.

Tenten turned around and saw Shikamaru's shocked expression and Kiba's resigned one. "Shikamaru?" she asked tentatively.

"Leave me alone." Shikamaru turned his back towards the others.

"A-alright." Tenten walked over to Ino.

Kiba looked at Shikamaru and said to the two girls, "we should sleep. It'll make time go by faster." They nodded mutely and lay down on the cold hard floor. It didn't take long for their exhaustion to take over and they fell asleep.

Kiba leaned against the wall. He couldn't sleep, not when Shikamaru was hurting so bad.

"Shikamaru, it's okay. I understand how you're feeling."

"Kiba, best friends don't grow on trees."

"Neither do sisters." Shikamaru froze in shock and glanced at Kiba.

"Y-you mean…?"

"Hana's dead. She was killed by the Rock Nin. I wish I could've saved her, but I was too late. Now she's gone. And she's not coming back to me, ever."

"I'm sorry, Kiba."

Kiba sighed, "That's not my point. Shikamaru, right now, we have no time to waste. I know you must feel pretty bad, but there's nothing you can do. We need to focus on more important issues. Put Chouji on hold until the right time. I'm sure he wouldn't want you suffering like this."

"Right."

"Let's go to sleep."

"Sure."

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Neji and Lee jumped swiftly from branch to branch, not daring to talk. The enemy shinobi could be heard from behind them, following. Neji frowned at the situation. Both he and Lee were chakra-deprived, sleep-deprived, energy-deprived and on top of that, both suffered from severe injuries.

"Looks like our youth isn't enough, eh?" Lee grinned, panting.

Neji glared at him. "Lee, shut up."

Behind them, there were screams as the sand shinobi made their appearance.

Neji sighed in relief. "Good. They made it in time." His byakugan slowly faded and his eyes returned to normal. Suddenly, Lee collapsed.

Raising his eyebrows, Neji bent over Lee's body, wincing at his broken ribs. Neji closed his eyes with frustration. What a time for Lee to fall asleep…

In dreamland, Lee was shouting and dancing to a happy tune. There were a billion rainbows in the sky, the flowers looked pretty and artificial, and best of all, Gai sensei was there!

Groaning, Neji picked up Lee and headed in what he hoped was the direction to Suna.

"And where do you think you're going?" said a dark voice from behind.

* * *

My first multi-chapter story! Also my first adventure story. Hope you like it! Review!

Sorry if characters are a bit OOC. There's a war going on, after all.

Achillea


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I am not owning

Sometime in the morning- Shikamaru wasn't quite when- one of the Rock Nin delivered their breakfast. It was really disgusting, slimy, runny and somewhat unidentifiable, probably porridge or something like it. Not that he minded.

"Ew…" Ino grimaced, sticking her tongue out, and succeeding in making all three of the other Konoha shinobi laugh, although Kiba's laughing soon turned to coughing.

Shikamaru smiled teasingly, "Eat up Ino. That's all you'll get for breakfast, lunch and dinner for as long as we're here."

"What! You mean I'll have to eat this for weeks on end!" Ino shouted, soon hushed by the Lazy nin.

"Sh…but don't worry, Temari and the other sand shinobi are coming," Shikamaru whispered, wary of any spies who may be hanging outside their cell.

"Speaking of which," Ino paused for dramatic effect, "Shikamaru…are you still crazy about that sand girl. I'm your girlfriend, you know. If you so much as look at her, I will beat the tar out of you!"

"Me?" Shikamaru feigned innocence. "I'm perfectly aware of your jealous nature, thank you very much. Sheesh, girls are so troublesome." He rolled his eyes.

"Luckily my Neji is good and only has eyes for me," Tenten said smugly, but Shikamaru could see the worry in her eyes.

"Are you suggesting my Shika doesn't?" Ino said menacingly.

"Yep!" Tenten grinned.

"Grr…" Ino growled at her, and soon the two girls were bickering over whose boyfriend was better.

"Peh troublesome girls," Shikamaru complained.

Kiba looked at Shikamaru sadly and whispered, "You know…Chouji's wish never did come true. (1)"

Shika's face fell. "You're right. It didn't."

"How many of us will make it out of this, alive?"

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Shikamaru said with forced cheer.

"That's not true and you know it." Kiba pouted, but soon had to cough again. He covered his mouth with a fist.

"Oh hey Kiba. Your cough's getting worse, isn't it?" Tenten stuck her face suddenly in front of Kiba's, making him jump.

"Um…I think it's okay. Given the situation, anyways." Kiba forced a grin at her, canines gleaming, but even in the dim light, they could all see the falseness it contained. None of them had the heart to press on, though.

Just then, the door opened and four trays were shoved into the dark room. There was a strange sludge on the plate. Ino swore it was moving. The cups, meanwhile, held amazingly dirty water.

"Bon appetite," remarked Shikamaru dryly.

"Cheers," Kiba agreed, holding up the small cup like a wine glass.

The four chuunin started eating.

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"Oh crap," thought Neji, activating his byakugan. He rather unpleasantly discovered that there was no possible escape- they were surrounded.

The man smiled evilly, "Don't try to run away. I've got my men surrounding this area. It's quite useless, really."

Neji growled, "What do you plan to do?"

At this, the man's smile grew even wider. "You know a guy called Hyuuga Hiashi? From your family, I presume. My eye was lost because of him. I want one to replace it. A byakugan eye. An eye for an eye. Equivalent exchange, eh?"

Neji shook with anger. "You expect me to hand over my eye? Just like that? I would never, ever, help someone like you."

"You're mistaken. I'm not asking, I'm demanding." The one-eyed shinobi swept his arms towards Neji and the still unconscious Lee and shouted at his men to attack.

Neji shook Lee desperately. "Lee, wake up!" Lee stirred, but Neji didn't have any more time to waste. He stood in front of his teammate and performed Kaiten, successfully blocking some of the charging shinobi.

"Lee!" At this Lee stirred and slowly opened his eyes. "What?"

Neji would have answered, but Lee managed to figure out the situation (maybe the two Rock nin parked in front of him gave him a clue) and jumped in to help.

"Brace yourself." Said Neji.

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"You know, this food sort of grows on you," Tenten said, spooning the daily breakfast sludge into her mouth.

"Speak for yourself," Muttered Kiba, wrinkling his nose. The dog-boy was shivering, despite his wearing a thick jacket. He tucked his legs close to his body, wishing that Akamaru was close by.

Shikamaru was starting to feel concerned. A prison cell wasn't a great place to nurse a cold, and he had a feeling that this was way more serious than a cold. However, Shikamaru's thoughts were soon interrupted by Ino's complaints.

"I can't believe they would let us eat this glop. Yuck!" She played with the food.

Shikamaru sighed, "At least it's edible. Be thankful for that."

"You call this edible?" Ino looked amazed, "Congratulations to anyone who can actually stomach this food."

"I can very well. Guess I'm a better kunoichi than you huh? I can adapt," noted Tenten proudly.

"Says who?" replied Ino.

"Says me," and the two girls were arguing again.

"It's quite amusing how girls always make a big deal about small things," stated Kiba, before coughing again.

Shikamaru waited until the coughing subsided before asking, "Can you still stand up and walk? I'm as weak as Kami knows what."

Kiba leaned slightly and stood up. He walked a bit around the room. "Yeah, but I feel really stiff."

Ino and Tenten each tried and found that they had almost no problem walking. "It's okay Shika," said Ino nicely, "I'll help you." Shikamaru soon was standing with the rest of them, albeit leaning on Ino.

"That's actually a good idea," said Tenten, "We should continue stretching and keep our muscles fit before we end up like Shikamaru," ignoring the glare he gave her, she continued, "and it'll give us something to do. Time passes so slowly here."

The other three agreed to 'train' five times a day to be able to maintain somewhat fit.

* * *

(1) It's mentioned in my story A Promise not Kept although if you read it, it will spoil the ending. Chouji's wish was to always have lots of food to eat. 

The second chapter! It's a bit longer than the first, and there's some more action. (Trust me, it will get exciting. Please just be patient.) And review! I only got one review last chapter...Thanks **Nee-chan8**

Third chapter will be coming soon.

Achillea


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Neji winced as the enemy struck his broken ribs for the fifth time. He didn't even have the chakra left to perform kaiten anymore. One glance at Lee told him that he wasn't faring too well either.

"Hey Lee," Neji hissed, landing beside him, "you need to escape…and soon."

"What about you?" asked Lee, "what will happen if I leave you?"

"I'm fine," insisted Neji, "All I ask is that you give this letter to Tenten." Neji handed him a small, folded piece of paper. Lee nodded and put the paper into his pockets.

"Ready?" And Neji quickly swallowed an emergency chakra pill (his last one) and leapt towards the approaching men. Lee, meanwhile, ran in the opposite direction.

"Good luck Neji," he said, "May your youth be with you."

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About a few hours later, the cell door creaked open and two men entered.

"Come with me," one of them said, grabbing Tenten by her arm and pulling her outside. Tenten screamed and struggled, but there was no chance she could escape.

"Tenten!" Kiba and Ino stood up and tried to get past the second guard.

"Oh no you don't," he said and pushed the two against the wall. Shikamaru could only watch and feel helpless as they left with Tenten.

"Kiba, Ino, are you guys alright?" he asked anxiously once they left.

"Yeah, but what about Tenten?" Kiba asked weakly.

"I'm not sure," mumbled Shikamaru.

"Poor her," pitied Ino, "What will they do to her?"

"I guess we can only watch, observe and wait," said Shikamaru.

And wait they did. The minutes passed like hours, and the silence was unsettling. It was quiet, too quiet, with the exception of Kiba's semi-constant coughing.

"Is she coming back?" wondered Ino out loud.

"I hope she is." Said Kiba, "it's fun to see you two argue."

"What! You mean you like it when I argue with her?" Ino demanded, outraged.

"Kiba has a point. It does lighten the mood," Shikamaru said calmly.

They didn't have a chance to say any more because the cell door opened again and Tenten was thrown back in.

The Konoha shinobi gathered around her. "Tenten, are you all right?" She didn't answer, and instead screamed, "Get away from me! Get away from me!"

"What?" Ino turned to Shikamaru for help.

"Genjutsu," he murmured, "They've got her under an illusion."

"Get that other girl, the pretty one," commanded a voice from outside the jail.

"Yes sir," and the men came in again, reaching for Ino.

"Stay away from me," she screeched

Unfortunately, neither of the Rock Nin listened. One of them grabbed her and pulled her close, "We'll be nice, don't you worry your pretty little head." Together, they took her from the room and locked the door.

"What are they doing?" asked Kiba fearfully, abandoning the job of calming down Tenten.

"I have a feeling they are trying to get information…through torture," said Shikamaru, thoughtfully.

"Information?"

"Yea. We are shinobi, after all and we may know some of the battle plans, strategies and so on. Not to mention that one of Tenten's teammates was a Hyuuga and this may be a good chance to learn about their weaknesses."

"Oh…" There was an awkward silence here. It lasted so long that Kiba wondered whether or not Shikamaru fell asleep.

"Be careful, Kiba. One of us is next."

Shikamaru stopped as three trays were pushed into the cell.

"Sous le deux," a voice whispered before walking away.

"_Cough Cough _Shika? _Cough," _asked Kiba.

"That means under the second," Shikamaru reached for the second tray and moved the food around until he saw a small, wrapped parcel. He untied the string and opened it. Inside, there was a note and some chakra pills.

Shikamaru unfolded the note and squinted in the near-darkness.

_**Before pass a third day sun**_

**_We will ready for the run. _**

**_Keen eyes will look at black _**

**_Feel the breeze, a strong attack _**

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"I feel so dumb," complained Kiba, peering closely at the letter, "Wait, Tenten?" he called, relieved to see her asleep.

"It's in code," explained Shikamaru, "In about two days or so, we will escape. We need to look for someone dressed in black, probably one of Kankuro's puppets, and follow the wind; it'll lead us to Temari."

Kiba grinned slightly, "No wonder they call you the 'genius shinobi'."

They faced the door as it opened and Ino was thrown in.

"Oh my god…"said Kiba. Shikamaru was speechless.

Ino had several new bruises and cuts all over her body. Her clothes were ripped, especially at the top and it revealed her bare body.

"They didn't, wouldn't, would they?" Kiba asked disturbed, quickly taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her.

"And they call themselves respectable shinobi," a disgusted Shikamaru said. He moved closer to her and put his arms on her shoulder, comfortingly.

"T-they…" sobbed Ino, clinging to Shikamaru.

"Sh…" he soothed her. He turned his head to Kiba shaking, this time with anger. "They had better not touch a hair on Hinata's head, because if they do, I will personally kill them."

Shikamaru smiled at Kiba's Kiba-ish behaviour. "Then again, you can't tell whether or not she's been captured or not."

"I hope she isn't. I truly hope that." Kiba said solemnly.

Ino looked at Kiba, slightly sadly, "you know she still loves Naruto, right?"

Kiba gave her such a defeated look that Ino immediately wished she had kept silent. "I know. But one day, she will love me. Hopefully after I get rid of this cough." Kiba said, coughing.

"Yea, and hopefully your wish will come true, if all of ours don't," said Shikamaru airily, and only Kiba understood what he meant.

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Neji grimaced and held the deep cut in his stomach. There had been several shinobi who had tried to follow Lee, but he had successfully defended against them all. Considering the fact that it was one against about fifteen or so, he was doing remarkably well. Well meaning that he hadn't died and even managed to kill a few of the enemies.

Neji nimbly dodged the kunai aimed at his head. 'Need to be careful,' he thought to himself.

Suddenly he was pinned to the tree, 'What?' Neji thought.

The leader grinned. "Chakra threads. And not just normal ones," he added when Neji tried to channel some of his remaining chakra into the thin wire, "These also contain the element rock within them. They're new technology…and so far, no one has broken through them."

"Let me be the first," Neji said, showing that he already had one hand free.

The one-eyed man smiled even wider, "Ah…but what good will one hand do? You are unable to escape further; that took up your remaining chakra."

Neji looked up at the sky, 'eight birds…'he thought. "That's when you're wrong. There's plenty I can do with one hand, such as this," Neji opened his kunai pouch and took out a kunai; coincidentally, theone that Tenten gave him. 'Tenten, please forgive me,' he thought and stabbed himself in the heart. He remembered saying, "I am a caged bird. Don't forget that."

The man gawked as the seal started disappearing and Neji's large white eyes faded into normal brown ones. There was a look of pride in his eyes, proud to have served his village. And sadness.

"Tenten…"

* * *

Yay! The third chapter. This one is longer because I want to write more in one chapter rather than a lot of short ones. 

Neji's dead! Oh no! I killed him! He was one of my favourite characters too. But in the end, he still couldn't manage to defeat the one-eyed Rock nin. And what's in the letter he wrote for Tenten? Will it ever reach her?

Read and Review to find out!

Achillea


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

"You. Boy with the red marks on the cheeks. Come with me." Kiba shot a look of helplessness as he was led, none too gently, away from the three of the Konoha chuunins.

Shikamaru watched. 'So, I'm the last one…' he thought, before glancing at the sleeping girls. They snored, rather cutely, and it was all Shikamaru could do not to shout in frustration at the way they were treated. Each one of them had lost weight, too much, in fact.Heguessed that Kiba probably only weighed sixty pounds, or less. Ino lost about twenty, which would make her around seventy pounds and Tenten was about five pounds more.

'I only weigh that little too,' he mused. Still, Kiba was definitely the worst off in their group.

'Kiba, you better stay alive,' he thought.

Ino stirred and opened her eyes. "Shika?" she asked tentatively.

"Yea?"

"Are you worried about Kiba?"

"I am. But don't worry…he'll be fine. It's Kiba, and he's strong." Shikamaru knew he sounded like he was trying to convince both of them, but he shrugged it off.

"He won't die, will he?"

"I'm sure he won't," and this time, it was obvious that even the lazy genius was very concerned.

"I hope he won't. Too many have already died, or been injured. Too many loved ones," Ino wrapped her arms around her legs. Shikamaru felt a pang of sorrow as he too remembered Inoichi, and Chouji, and his own parents. He had no way of knowing whether or not his family was still alive.

Sometime later, the door opened and their breakfast was set on the floor, and Kiba was tossed in.

Shikamaru immediately crawled over to Kiba. "What did they do to you?"

He realized that Kiba's clothes were completely soaked in freezing water, and that Kiba was shivering too much to answer. Shikamaru cursed. "They knew your weakness was how sick you were. In this place, there is no warmth. Troublesome…"

Shikamaru called Ino over, "Ino, I'm sorry but Kiba needs his jacket back. Here, wear mine." He took off his jacket and handed it to the said girl, who in turn gave the thick one back.

Kiba gratefully put on his jacket again. His body was numb with cold, and he could feel the world spinning around him. Shikamaru startled when Kiba coughed, sounding worse than before…much worse.

"S-Shika?" Kiba asked in a wavering, hoarse voice. Shikamaru nodded to show that he heard. "T-they s-s-said t-th-that th-ey k-kill-killed Hinata."

Shikamaru shook his head. "They were just trying to torture your mind. It's probably not true." Kiba looked at him, eyes filled with uncertainty and sorrow. "G-good…" Shikamaru watched as Kiba fell over limply, unconscious. "Hang in there just a little bit longer, Kiba," he whispered.

"Tenten's awake," said Ino, motioning for Shikamaru to come over.

Tenten sat up groggily and asked, "Where am I?"

"Tenten, do you remember anything about the torturing they did to you?" Ino felt Tenten's forehead.

"Torture? Wha…" Tenten suddenly jumped up, "They kept putting me under illusions. I saw it, saw my past. My parents were there, and they were dying, just like so many years ago. And Neji was there too, bleeding and bleeding. I couldn't help them, I couldn't!" Tenten started sobbing.

'Is it just me, or am I having to deal with too many hysterical girls?' wondered Shikamaru. He didn't want to hug her; it would be like invading Neji's 'territory' and he sure as hell would be dead if Neji found out.

"How troublesome. Ino, this is your job." Shikamaru preferred to stay with Kiba. He noticed that Kiba's lips were completely blue. 'Damn…' he thought, making a circular shape with his hands, 'I'm gonna really have to think of a plan before they take me for the interrogation.'

"Shikamaru, are the sand shinobi coming?" asked Ino.

"Should be. Today's the second day, so they will be coming tonight." The said chuunin answered.

"If we're lucky, you won't be taken today." Tenten said.

"I'm not much when it comes to recent news, you know. After all, I was captured first, quite a while before you guys," Shikamaru reminded her.

There was an uncomfortable silence here, which got interrupted by Kiba's trembling voice. "I-if we're g-gonna es-escape t-tonight, we sh-should s-leep." He said with difficulty, pausing to regain his breath.

Shikamaru nodded his agreement. "You guys sleep first. I'll keep watch, 'kay?" The girls agreed and lay down. They fell asleep easily.

Shikamaru felt quite annoyed when Kiba didn't attempt to sleep. "Kiba," he started in a serious tone.

"D-don't," Kiba interrupted. His teeth were chattering.

"Kiba, listen to me. You're not going to get better if you don't rest. Trust me. Kiba, it won't help any of us if, when the time comes, you are too weak to do anything. And we can't have you dying before we reach Suna." Shikamaru felt horrid for mentioning anything about death, but he had to.

"'S a-all r-right, Shi-Shika. I w-won't d-die until I-I c-can s-see Hi-Hinata one m-more t-time." Kiba gasped for breath, his lungs unable to get air.

Concerned, the lazy nin gently patted Kiba's back until he stopped struggling for air. "I believe you, Kiba. I truly do."

Kiba gave him one last smile before lying onto his side and closing his eyes. Soon, his breathing, though rather shallow, slowed and he was asleep.

After a while, Shikamaru would guess an hour, there was a gentle breeze. Shikamaru caught a glimpse of a black cloth before it disappeared past their cell.

"Tenten, Ino, Kiba. It's time," he hissed at them, shaking Ino gently.

Tenten sat up and rubbed her eyes. She stood and stretched, "I'm ready when you guys are, but how are we going to get out. The door's locked, you know."

Ino rolled her eyes, "No duh. Thanks for stating the obvious, bun girl."

They were interrupted by Shikamaru before any real argument could break out. "Here, I've got the keys. You guys weren't paying attention when a guard snuck it to me earlier today, when they served the meal."

Without letting either girls answer, he quickly reached outside the metal bars and unlocked the door. "Oh, by the way, I'll take care of Kiba. He's not able to walk on his own."

Kiba gave the best annoyed look he could at Shikamaru, but didn't protest.

One by one, the four chuunin crept out into the hallway, which was illuminated by the few candles on the wall. They had to travel slowly, carefully stepping over fallen bodies, courtesy of Karasu (Kankuro's puppet.) The wind lead them, blowing gently in the correct direction to freedom.

Just as the four were beginning to get frustrated, they reached a small hole inside a wall and climbed out. Ino blinked in surprise, "Since when were we so close to a lake?"

Temari jumped out from behind a tree, "It's true. The prison of the Rock is actually located beside this lake."

Shikamaru nodded, "Is that why we had to travel through such intricate tunnels? So they could hide how close it actually is to the Bloodshed Lake?"

"Kind of. They also wanted to make it so that if a prisoner ever escaped, they would not be able to find the way out of the underground maze."

"Bloodshed Lake?" Ino asked, perplexed.

Kankuro landed beside Temari. "We should hurry, time is running out."

She agreed and said, "This way." Everyone followed her towards the forest. They ran in silence for quite a long time before stopping in surprise.

"Is that who I think it is?" asked Tenten incredulously.

Kiba looked up and cocked his head, sniffing. "It is" he said, finally.

* * *

Finally an update. It took me forever to write this chapter, mainly because I've been so busy. Sorry sorry sorry for how slow I update. Will you still read and review? I would love that.

So who is that person they see? See if you can guess : )

Achillea


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Everyone gaped as Lee limped beside them, grinning and 'ping-ing' brilliantly. It took a keen eye and analytical mind to see that the smile never fully reached his eyes, and that there was clearly a slump of defeat in his shoulders. Shikamaru possesses both of these traits.

Tenten stood in shock for a while before pulling Lee into a giant bear hug, "Oh my god, I was so worried about you. I'm so happy you're here," she paused, as realization dawned onto her. "Lee, where is Neji? I don't see him. Is he still behind? He's not…he can't be…"

Lee gently shook his head and handed her the note that Neji had so recently given him. "My beautiful youthful flower, I do not know how our Neji is doing, but I am sure he is fine. My rival will not perish in such conditions," he said, doing the 'Nice Guy' pose.

Trembling, Tenten reached for the piece of paper, not reassured by Lee's confident words. She glanced at Temari and Shikamaru. Both nodded.

"We have traveled far enough for today for a rest, I guess," Temari said.

Tenten walked a distance away from the others, barely registering Temari's voice as she shouted, "Don't wander too far."

Shaking, Tenten unfolded the note and read:

_Tenten_

****

**_This here is a hasty note that I am writing as Lee sleeps here. It is close to midnight, but I can't sleep because I am wor…never mind. I am just thinking about you. _**

**_If you are reading this right now, and I'm not there, it means I'm either dead or seriously injured. Before you say anything, or in fact do anything, just read the rest of this. I hope that it was Lee who delivered this to you because that would mean that most have gone well. Lee deserves to live, unlike me, because I am a stupid, ignorant fool. I love you. Yes, it's me, Neji and you are not misreading. Maybe it's because of the strain of the past few months and all, and maybe I am going crazy, but it would please me to hear you say those three words to me too. Then again, how can anyone love someone like me? _**

****

**_However, in the best case, this letter will forever remain in some dusty pocket and be forgotten and I will be alive to tell you my feelings. But if that can not happen, I will be happy enough to know that you know how I feel. _**

****

**_If only you could love me back too. I know that I've never treated you well, or anyone else, but as I sit here amidst the dead and dying, it's my only regret. In all this suffering, in all this pain, I've come to realize everything that I should have done before. Now, it's too late. One of us could easily die at anytime, and I will spend the rest of my life mourning for what couldn't be. _**

****

**_I wish there was some possible way for you to love me, but right now, if I die, I will have only one wish. It is that if and when you die, I will be able to see you again before you go to heaven. People like me will never be able to go there, but you surely can. All that I want is to see you, to know that you are happy. I may not be able to do much, but I do not want to add to your pain. Who am I to hurt you all over again? Don't mourn for me when I die. I am not worth your tears. Call it instinct, but I am sure that I will be long dead before you read this. Fate is cruel in that way, you know. _**

****

**_Neji _**

****

Tears fell down Tenten's face as she dropped the letter and bent to pick it up again. "Neji, if only you knew. I have watched you for so long, admired you. Now, if you leave me, who will help me and give me hope? Everyone leaves me behind, heading for the land beyond ours. Please, Neji, don't be dead." But even as Tenten pleaded with Kami, she knew it was too late. "I love you so much, Neji."

And she turned to join everyone else.

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Shikamaru, Ino and everyone else were sitting by the side of the lake, sipping on a hot drink, 'Probably powdered,' thought Tenten as she stepped beside Ino, who handed her a steaming cup.

"Drink up, it contains special minerals that will boost your energy level," said Ino.

Temari bent and reached into her bag. She pulled out several lumpy packages and handed them out. "These are special shinobi survival packs. Inside, there are: emergency chakra pills, blood pills (which are a very expensive luxury,) little packets of this drink, spare bandages and some more various items, including a water bottle. Please note that we only give these to the best shinobi," Temari added as a side note.

The four err…five Konoha shinobi mumbled their thanks as they took their packs.

Looking up, Tenten noticed that Lee had all his wounds treated and wrapped. She felt tears gather in her eyes, but held them back for Lee's sake.

"Lee, Neji is dead," Tenten said quietly.

Everyone turned and looked at her in concern.

"Tenten, don't be so pessimistic," Shikamaru said.

Lee agreed, "Do not let the flames of YOUTH be extinguished! It will forever burn brightly within Konoha's flower! I, Rock Lee, will personally make sure of this!" Lee did the 'nice guy' pose again.

"N-Neji wouldn't w-want y-you t-to th-think that w-way," Kiba said to her.

Tenten only shook her head. "Neji is dead and I'll never see him again." She faltered, tears falling from her eyes, "Don't you guys feel it too?" she paused, "By the end of this war, who'll be left?"

Kiba's eyes looked downwards as he finished the words to the story, "B-by the end of it all, none will be l-left." He coughed.

Temari rolled her eyes, "Haven't you Konoha shinobi received the 'stay happy in times of hardships blah blah blah…speech?"

"Um…" the four chuunin answered.

"Oh, OF COURSE! One must always stay YOUTHFUL no matter what!" Lee posed dramatically, tears streaming down his cheeks. He gasped when he noticed that everyone had either: 1) fallen asleep. 2) Fallen over anime style. 3) Was too lazy to do anything. 4) Look like they were about to murder someone, namely, him. 5) Glared at him and sighed in exasperation. 6) Gone back to playing with puppets.

"Touching," muttered Temari, deciding to drop the subject and curl up to sleep.

The rest of them stared at each other and decided on a schedule of who was going to stay awake first. Tenten volunteered and agreed to wake up someone else after a few hours.

Shikamaru slept soundly before getting woken up by the sound of coughing. He didn't need to get up to know who it was, but decided to anyway. Shikamaru's eyes widened when he saw Kiba doubled over, blood dripping from his lips.

"Kiba!" Shikamaru ran over to him, gently supporting him as he gasped and retched. After a while, Kiba stopped coughing and the blood stopped falling.

Shikamaru exhaled and semi-glared at Kiba. "What's wrong with you? I thought you were better after getting the warm food and clothes. Tell me Kiba. I know that you know."

Kiba fidgeted and glanced around, but seeing no way out of the situation, he sighed. "I'm dying, Shikamaru."

"What?"

"Just thought I'd get that out before saying anymore," explained Kiba. He hesitated, but continued again, "D-do you remember ab-bout a year ago? There were months t-that I was 'gone'"

Shikamaru nodded, "I thought you went to train at another country."

"No. I was in the hospital. I nearly d-died too, but Tsunade saved me by p-performing two major surgeries. Afterwards, she wanted me t-to quit being a shinobi, b-but I couldn't." Kiba said.

"But why? Kiba, answer the question please."

"My organs are f-failing me," Kiba said haltingly.

"What! What do you mean?" Shikamaru practically shouted.

"Exactly what I said," said a rather annoyed Inuzuka, before lapsing into another bout of coughing.

Shikamaru shut up immediately and thought the current situation over. "We need to get you to Suna and fast," he said at last.

Kiba agreed. The lazy nin stayed silent for a while and then said, "Let's sleep. Staying up and getting exhausted won't help us tomorrow."

The dog nin grinned slightly and lay down. "Thanks," he said.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and regarded Kiba. "For what?" he said lazily.

"For being my friend."

'But,' thought Shikamaru, 'there's an '_end_' in fri_end_.'

* * *

This chapter may receive some changes in the future. I just wanted to get it onto the site. Sorry for not updating for such a long time. I'll try my best to finish the next chapter as soon as possible. 

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'll answer some questions.

1) Naruto and Tsunade? Er...I can try to give subtle hints of it...

2) It IS a tragedy story. I promise. (involving Kiba and Hinata and Naruto) Also, the rest of the rookie nine will appear in due time. The main characters I have been focusing on are the few that have been mentioned from the beginning.

Review as always! (or nearly always!)

Achillea


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

The next, all the shinobi got up at the crack of dawn, woken by Temari.

"We have to start traveling bright and early if we want to reach Suna as quick as possible," she cast a glance towards Shikamaru's and Kiba's direction.

'How much does she know…?' wondered the two, exchanging glances.

Temari smiled at Shikamaru and winked, causing Ino to explode with the anger only a female could possess.

"HEY! I saw that!" she screamed, waving her arms to emphasize her fury.

Temari shrugged and waved for them to continue. "I won't waste my time fighting little girls like you."

Ino was barely contained by Shikamaru. Just barely.

"Sh…we're in the wilderness. Be quiet," he hissed into her ear.

The two sand jounin and the five leaf shinobi traveled in silence for a while. They never stopped for very long, only pausing to gulp down water before continuing the journey. Shikamaru could hear from Ino's uneven breathing and Kiba's rough coughs how the exercise was affecting them.

"We need to stop," he said to Temari.

She shrugged, obviously disappointed at the state of their bodies. "You guys better train hard after we reach Suna," she said, in a flat tone, eyeing him as if she thought he wouldn't train.

"Troublesome women," he grumbled under his breath.

Everyone was sitting or standing and panting, or in a certain person's case, coughing.

"I would've thought you'd be better by now," said Ino, staring a bit too suspiciously at Kiba.

"C'mon, let's go already," interrupted Temari, impatiently stamping her foot.

Kiba gave a sigh of relief, thankful that she had helped him out of the situation. However, judging from the look Ino was giving him, he wasn't quite out of the problem yet. It was lucky that Tenten was still too wrapped in her thoughts and Lee too worried about her because neither cared about him at the current moment.

Kiba winced as the pain shot like fire through his body. It quickly subsided, but Kiba still worriedly glanced up, praying that no one had noticed. They didn't. He bit his lip.

'I need to do something before this gets any worse. Ino already has suspicions, and Temari definitely knows something. God, I need to talk to Shikamaru right about now.'

Unfortunately, that never happened. A snap sounded behind the trees. "What?" Temari whipped around to see enemy shinobi surrounding them.

"How did we miss them?" she half shouted at Shikamaru.

"I don't know," he mouthed back at her, before changing into a fighting stance.

'What…?' Kiba's thoughts raced through his mind. "You guys…these people…they have no scent whatsoever."

"Is that even possible?" Ino yelled at him, kunai in hand. An enemy shinobi rushed at her, and the sound of metal hitting metal rang through the forest.

"Pathetic, weak shinobi. You are no better than little babies." The apparent 'leader' taunted.

'Wait a sec,' thought Shikamaru, 'there's something familiar about that guy. I can't place my finger on it, but I definitely know this person.'

The man noticed Shikamaru's scrutinizing gaze and raised his eyebrows. Kiba too seemed to find something strange about this man.

"Ah. Ya remember me, Kiba?" the guy spoke in a slow, mocking tone.

The Konoha and Suna nins all gasped. "H-how in t-the w-world d-d-do you know Kiba?" Tenten stuttered. Temari and Kankuro narrowed their eyes.

"He must have the blessing of YOUTH!" shouted Lee, before promptly getting hit by Tenten.

Shikamaru realized that only Kiba had yet to react to this. He turned his head towards Kiba and saw the brunette had bowed his head.

"Do you know who this is?" Shikamaru asked, much to the delight of the Enemy.

"Yes, Kiba-_chan_, do you know who I am?"

"Father…"Kiba whispered.

* * *

Sorry for both the facts that I am a slow updater and that this chapter is unbearably short. However, I will make it up with the next chapter, which I have already written about a page of.

I know I haven't been using any of the japenese terms so it's really random for me to have that there. I needed to emphasize the fact that the shinobi (Kiba's father) was taunting him.

Next chapter: Lots of fighting and action (which I am quite horrible at writing.) Will they be able to fight when they're are so outnumbered? Find out when I update! And Review please!

Achillea


	7. My notes

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction. Or rather, I could since I could be a fan of my own little anime/manga and write stories that are totally irrelevent to my actual plot line. But I don't own Naruto.

**My notes-made to help avoid confusion for readers**

Okay, once again, this is not a chapter. So why am I writing this? Well, you see, Chapter 3 wasn't a chapter either, but it was some author's notes much like this one. I thought that it was really unimportant so I deleted that chapter. It was only after I did that that I realized my mistake. I'm not sure if most people are like me, but when I look to see if a story has been updated, I check the number of chapters. Therefore, even though I updated, people will think I haven't. _Comprends?_

And now that that's over with, check Chapter six for the next installment in the story! And I will be updating as soon as I can. I'm just really busy (but then again, who isn't?)

Thank's for reading this nice insignificant little note that has nothing whatsoever to do with the story. Or technically, it does go with the story but that's really not that important, is it? Actually, it sort of is since this is about the story and preventing people from becoming confused when the REAL chapter 7 comes out. But who cares about whether or not this is important...

Well, nothing more to say than the fact that I like review! And they make me update faster!

Achillea


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

"War is a good thing, isn't it?" Kiba's father said, "I finally get to see my son, after all these years. How's your mom, Tsume? And what about Hana? And that girl, the daughter of your aunt."

When Kiba looked up, Shikamaru saw that his eyes were not full of longing, which Shikamaru thought they would be because he was meeting his father, but instead, they blazed with anger.

"They are fine…no thanks to you." Beneath Kiba's cold, but surprisingly calm tone, Shikamaru heard the carefully concealed lies.

Unconsciously, Shikamaru gave a little growl.

"Oh yes. Your little friends. I don't believe we've met before. My name is Inuzuka Niguman. I am known as the Betrayer Nin because of how many times I have betrayed my comrades."

Kiba doubled over as coughs overcame him. "W-why are you h-here?" he managed to gasp out.

Niguman smiled, "It's obvious. Killing you aunt wasn't enough. I need to taste your blood. The delectable sweet taste of the life flowing through your veins. I must have it." His eyes were sparkling with maliciousness.

Before anyone else could say anything, Shikamaru jumped and pushed Kiba out of the way. There were about twenty kunai knives where Kiba had been.

Tenten blinked, 'where did those kunai come from?' she wondered.

All the men started to advance menacingly. 'So,' thought Shikamaru, 'the fight begins.'

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Temari growled. This was definitely not planned. She didn't think that they would be attacked so soon after the last battle. Hopefully, Gaara had foreseen this and sent backup.

"Kankuro!" she cried. He grunted, not pausing the movement of his fingers. Both of his puppets swung in perfect rhythm, deflecting all the attacks that the enemies were releasing.

* * *

Temari glanced around. There were three shinobi against her and Kankuro. The odds were against them, but they still could defeat the enemies. She reached for her fan, and with one swipe, blocked the many weapons sailing in their direction.

"Hey Temari! Save your chakra. We may need it later on, especially if the others can't fight. They are still frail from the prison." Kankuro reminded her, landing neatly on the branch beside her.

"Right." Temari opening her fan again, grinning. "Don't underestimate the power of my wind," she shouted, as the wind immediately rose into furious bouts. Before she could complete her jutsu, the gusts suddenly stopped.

"I was a shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Rocks. Do you really think that your puny breezes could match the strength of my rocks?" One of the shinobi sneered at her.

Temari tried again, but the wind was unable to penetrate the earth, which had rose to form a thick, solid wall.

"My wind attacks are useless," Temari said in surprise.

She blocked the punches being thrown at her and jumped away. Kankuro seemed to be fine, using his puppets to assault the enemies. Suddenly, the ground moved and long vines erupted from the earth.

Temari jumped delicately above them, careful not to be caught. Her screams filled the air when the chains wrapped around her legs, her body, all over her and brought her plunging to the ground.

"TEMARI!" yelled Kankuro.

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Shikamaru extended his shadows to catch the two shinobi that opposed him and Ino. Their eyes widened in shock as they found their bodies paralyzed, unable to move.

"Now Ino!" he yelled. She stood behind him, and with a few hand seals, performed the Shintenshin no Jutsu. Sadly, Ino hadn't yet mastered how to control more than one person, but she had improved the jutsu so that her body wasn't completely useless during the time her soul occupied another person's body.

Once Ino was safely inside the ninja's body, she nodded at Shikamaru to release the bind on her. Then, she stepped in front of the remaining enemy, putting a kunai at her neck.

"If you surrender now, I won't hurt your teammate too badly," she said, smiling slyly.

The guy didn't seem at all fazed by this. "I don't care whether or not she dies," he said, shrugging, "she means nothing to me."

Ino was shocked. "You mean you don't even care about the people you work with?" she asked.

"Of course I don't," and with that, the shinobi sprinted forward, punching "Ino" in the stomach. She was sent flying backwards straight into a tree, and was immediately knocked into unconsciousness.

"What?" Shikamaru exclaimed in shock.

The ninja shrugged. "I was just pretending to be caught by your shadow jutsu. It shouldn't have taken too much to notice."

Shikamaru suddenly remembered the guy shrugging when he was talking to Ino (who was in that girl's body at the time.) "Damn it…" he muttered, "I can't afford to be careless out here."

The shinobi grinned widely, "Now you can witness my favorite attack!" he yelled, charging forward.

'Need to help Ino,' thought Shikamaru. He jumped over the charging man and ran to Ino.

"Oh no you don't," shouted the enemy, appearing in a cloud of smoke, holding Ino's lifeless body. His bunshin disappeared. Shikamaru cursed again.

'If Ino can't get her soul back into her body, she'll die,' he realized.

"It's either your life, or hers," the man said.

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Tenten hid behind one of the large trees that filled the forest. She watched carefully as Lee attacked the shinobi they were against. She counted one, two, three, four, five ninjas fighting Lee. It would take some careful planning and good teamwork for the two of them to defeat so many shinobi, especially since neither of them could predict the skill level of the enemies.

"Witness the burning power of YOUTH!" cried Lee, jumping nimbly from branch to branch; successfully dodging any and all attacks headed his way.

'What a time for him to be rambling on about youth,' thought Tenten, resisting the urge to cover her ears. Any movement might give her position away, and that was something she certainly could not afford at the moment.

"Ready?" shouted Lee, speeding up. He punched, kicked and literally was a blur of speed. Tenten watched, impressed at how much he had improved. Why had she never realized how far behind she was compared to her teammates?

'No, no, no," Tenten chided herself. This definitely wasn't the time to think of such things. Her eyes focused back onto the area, where Lee had knocked one shinobi unconscious and had one held firmly in his arms.

"Now Tenten!" Lee yelled, before the enemies had recovered from his last move. Tenten was quick to release her storm of weapons. Some hit the ground, but the majority of them landed into the unconscious shinobi, a young woman.

"Naomi!" cried the man- he was hardly more than a boy, younger than Lee. He struggled against Lee's tight grasp but to no avail.

Tenten felt her guts coil in sympathy. "I'll end it quick," she said, before one of her shurikan landed straight into his heart. He died instantly, with barely any pain felt before death swept his soul away.

"That's two down," Lee said, nodding.

One of the older men, obviously more experienced than the rest, stepped forward, glaring. "You will pay for what you have done to Zumiko and Naomi," he growled.

Tenten noticed the slash across his headband. It seemed that he was from the land hidden in the mist. 'A mist nin might have killed Neji,' she thought, filled with a new sense of determination.

"A missing nin like you shouldn't care about them," she taunted, feeling all the anger and sorrow she had felt over the recent past returning like daggers.

The man's face hardened, "What would you know about how I should feel?" he asked, hatred clearing showing on his face.

Tenten shrugged, ignoring Lee's shocked expression at how she was acting, "I just figured that since you abandoned your own village, it wouldn't matter about me killing your teammates."

"Do you think we wanted to abandon our villages?" one of the other men stared at Tenten straight in the eye. Tenten shrugged again and said, "Well, didn't you?"

Lee interrupted before the other shinobi could reply. "My beautiful flower of Konoha, are you alright? It isn't like you to be like this," he added, earnestly.

"Wars change people," Tenten said emotionlessly, but she was starting to feel guilty about what she had said just a few moments ago. Even if these men were the enemy, they were still as human as anyone.

'Or as human as shinobi can get,' she reasoned.

"Tenten!" yelled Lee, as the other shinobi launched into attack. They took advantage of the time she spent thinking, unguarded.

"What?" she felt a sharp pain before darkness closed around her.

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Kiba leaned against the tree, panting. He was in no condition to fight, or, as a matter of fact, in a condition to stand.

He coughed up blood and unable to stop, fell to his knees. 'Thank goodness I managed to get away from that shinobi,' he thought, 'but I don't think I can keep this up any longer.'

Kiba quickly tried to stop thinking such negative thoughts, but the situation could depress any optimistic person. Kiba took a deep breath, but that only succeeded in making him cough more.

'Can't die here,' he thought, 'At least need to see Hinata one more time.'

"Did you say something?" Kiba heard from behind him.

"Father," Kiba bit his lip. Unless he was either extremely lucky or someone came to help, he was as good as dead.

"I feel so hurt," Niguman said dramatically, "My own son doesn't even want to see me after all these years. And after all I have done for you."

Kiba glared at him, "You have done nothing, but ruin my life."

At this, Niguman narrowed his eyes, but smiled again. "Nothing eh? Who do you think persuaded you mother to keep you alive when you were born? She didn't want you. You owe me your life, and now, I will take it back from you." He lunged forward, pushing Kiba into a tree. Kiba's eyes widened in pain as he felt his bones crack.

"That feels so good, to have your bones crushing under my hand," Niguman said happily. "I'll kill you just like I did to that aunt of yours, slowly letting her bleed to death. Except, I will have even more fun with your death."

He tossed Kiba onto the floor. Kiba gasped a bit and struggled to his knees. "I'm…not that easy…to get rid of," he panted.

"You aren't eh? Well, that certainly is different your dog and that worthless girl. Hyuuga, was it? They died too quickly. How boring." Niguman shrugged, "I hate quick deaths."

"W-What!" Kiba stood up, using a tree for support. "A-akamaru…Hinata…that can't be true…they can't…"

"Here," Kiba's father tossed a white fur towards Kiba. He smirked as the truth dawned on Kiba, realizing who it once belonged to.

"Akamaru!" he shouted, limping to the fur. Dropping on the floor, Kiba pressed the white fur to his face. The familiar scent filled his senses, drowning them in memories of summer days so very long ago. Above it all was the taste of copper blood, too strong.

"That is why you shouldn't love. They will only end up hurting you, in ways you could never imagine. It is easier to do what I did, because killing the people you love is easier than to watch them be killed."

Kiba shook his eyes, tears falling from his cheeks. "That's not true. You love because it is all you have. To kill the ones you love would be like killing yourself."

Niguman snorted. "I killed those around me and look where I am now. I am powerful, I am strong, I am handsome, and I have all that I could ever hope for. I will forever be the one who kills, not the one killed."

"I'll kill you." Kiba's cold words fell like stones, leading to a heavy silence.

"I honestly doubt that. Look at you, you who can't even stand up anymore. I will kill you in a way that will make sure you will wish you were never born."

"I don't care how weak I am. I don't care if I die. You will die for what you have done to Hinata and Akamaru. Torture me, poison me, I won't give up until you gasp your dying breath." Kiba shook as he stood up, eyes never leaving Niguman's face. He nearly fell down with the dizziness that proceeded, but remained upright.

Niguman opened a scroll, and quickly surrounded the area with various weapons.

'Tenten's jutsu…?' thought Kiba, preparing for the attack. With one quick movement of Niguman's hand, all the weapons came flying down. Kiba tried to dodge them, but too many impaled themselves inside Kiba's body.

Blood spilt, dying the ground a dark red color. Kiba fell limply to the ground with too many wounds, unable to continue standing.

'For you Hinata, I'll do what I can,' he thought, breathing labored. Niguman's laugh filled the space with an empty hollow sound.

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"Hanabi, are you ready yet?"

"Yes," Hanabi quickly packed the rest of her supplies into her backpack. Right before she left the room, she picked up her scythe.

'I might need it,' she reasoned, although it had been a long time since she had last used it. The silver blade gleamed when she moved it. Her father would definitely disapprove, but he wasn't here to say anything.

Her teammate raised his eyebrows when he saw the weapon strapped to her. "A Hyuuga using a weapon?"

Hanabi glared at him, but only said, "The Hyuuga techniques are not always suitable."

The response she got was a small nod before the two prepared to head out.

* * *

Muahaha I'm so mean, leaving cliffhangers. I apologize for the slow update, and the fact that I seemto always have slow updates. That is why I made this chapter so long. And I am really bad at responding to reviews so to everyone who reviewed: THANK YOU!

And now to leave you with these questions:

Will Temari, Ino, Tenten or Kiba die? Can they defeat their enemies? What is Hanabi doing and who is her teammate?Are Hinata and Akamaru really dead?

Review and find out! Oh, by the way, I suck at writing fighting scenes so if anyone had criticism or tips, I'd love to hear them!

Achillea


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Kankuro ignored the enemies as he dashed towards where Temari was falling. He managed to catch her, but the force sent both of them crashing into a mess of earth and dust. Kankuro coughed as the dust cleared away.

It was clear even before his view became clear again that the ninja who controlled the earth was grinning, or rather, smirking.

"That was only a taste of my power," he said.

Kankuro raised his eyebrow. "A good shinobi should always be prepared and never drop their guard," he said, watching the enemies' expressions turned from smug to shock.

Karasu and Kuroari were behind them, already prepared for his special technique: the Kurohigi Kiki Ippatsu. The shinobi who did not get attacked merely stared, mouth wide open.

The two were assaulted by Karasu's many weapons, and they could only dodge. The guy who controlled the earth stopped abruptly and slammed his palm onto the floor.

"Earth attack: Fissure!" The ground cracked open, shaking like an earthquake.

"Damn," Kankuro cursed, lifting Temari into his arms and leaping away. Suddenly, he remembered something that his mother had always sang before she died.

_When you first feel the tremors of quake _

_Jump up quick for your life's sake _

_Herein the trees, should you be safe _

_'Til dawn's asleep and cease the shake_

'Of course!' Kankuro remembered that his mother had once lived in an earthquake zone. The song must have been her way to warn and teach her children. He leapt into the nearby tree, landing with perfection. It was perfect; the tree would not succumb to earth attacks.

"Okay," said Kankuro closing his eyes in concentration. With precision, he carefully moved Kuroari behind two shinobi, who were too gleeful to pay close attention. By the time they noticed, it was too late.

The two were enclosed in Kuroari's barrel shaped body. They screamed and banged on the container, but it was no use. He smirked as Kuroari's limbs detached, and changing into blades, flew back in.

"Mr. Earth really ought to take care of his teammates better," he chuckled. At this moment, Temari sat up behind him.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked in a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes.

"Only the deaths of two of our enemies, nothing more." Kankuro grinned at her. "You can have the honor of killing that Earth dude after I find a way to get past him."

"Kankuro, sometimes, I actually like your way of thinking." Temari smiled at him.

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Shikamaru made a face before settling down onto his knees, hands forming a familiar shape. It gave him comfort that at least he would be able to clear his head for a few moments.

'This ninja is not stupid and reckless like most,' thought Shikamaru, 'He wouldn't just stand there, holding Ino and letting me attack unless he is that confident of his abilities…which I'm sure he's not. This means that the real bodies are somewhere else.'

'Well,' Shikamaru stood up from his kneeling position; 'I shouldn't waste an opportunity like this to test my new jutsu.'

Shikamaru closed his eyes, using his hands to form seals. "Konoha hidden technique: Shadow Spies!" he whispered quietly, chakra shooting into nearby shadows. Almost unnoticeably, they began to slither along the ground, searching for a heat source to attach to.

There were flaws to this jutsu. Shikamaru knew he had to find a way to guarantee that the shadows attached themselves to his targets and not anywhere else. After that, they would create a path to show Shikamaru where the targets were.

Shikamaru then created a bunshin to take place so he would be able to get away without revealing what he knew.

"Ino, I will save you," he said quietly. "It's troublesome, but you may be all the family I have left."

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Lee gaped as Tenten fell unconscious onto the ground, her arms limply falling by her side. There was a senbon embedded in her back. "What did you do to her?" Lee demanded loudly, eyes narrowing in anger.

"Oh. She'll be fine. We promise we won't hurt her…too much." The man sneered at Lee, and reached for a kunai. "In the mean time, we'll take care of you. It'll be like killing cockroaches, one whack and they're dead." He punched the air for effect.

'Gai-sensei, I will not let you down. Neji, I will protect your Tenten because that will be a worthy cause for my death, should it get to that point. Our beloved flower shall not die by their hands if there is anyway I can prevent it. That is why Neji died.' Lee closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, strength shone through them.

He bent down and loosened something around his ankles. The three remaining enemies prepared for attack, and were very surprised to see Lee straightening, holding something in both his hands. Lee dropped them and caused dirt to fly in clouds around the four men.

'Weights?' thought one of the enemies. 'We should be careful, there's no telling how strong this kid is.'

Lee started preparing himself for his chakra gates. 'I remember,' he thought to Gai, 'I will do this to protect the life of someone who is precious to me.'

A picture of Gai appeared in his mind. It wasn't a war-strained Gai, but one who was grinning like he had no care in the world. Beside him was Neji, doing his best imitation of a sincere smile. Tenten was also well and smiling at him.

Lee opened his eyes again. "I am sorry, but I cannot let you kill Tenten. There is much that she has to live for and I cannot let you take that away from her."

"Really? This pathetic girl means that much to you?" The leader cocked an eyebrow at him.

"She does. She is my beautiful flower, whose light should shine upon me and help me become even more beautiful than I already am." Lee 'pinged' at him.

"In that case, she can help me kill you." Lee gaped as Tenten rose from behind him, her eyes unnaturally dull. She held a kunai in her hands.

"You can't harm her, can you?" The leader started laughing. "You can't touch a hair on her head."

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Trembling, Kiba rose again onto his feet. 'I really need to thank Neji for teaching me a weak version of his Kaiten,' he thought, 'I was at least able to avoid quite a lot of them.'

Just then, Kiba felt his body convulse in pain and he doubled over, blood falling from his lips. Kiba heaved and gasped, but he couldn't breath properly.

Niguman had looked quite surprised that Kiba could still stand up, but his smile returned when his son started coughing. "A spasm eh? I remember. Back a while ago, one of my spies told me about your, should I say, illness. They didn't expect you to survive, with your wounds and everything, but you surprised everyone. Of course, the operation went on for hours and Tsunade exhausted herself treating you."

Kiba bared his fangs, but there wasn't anything for him to argue about. All of it was true, and he wasn't about to run away from his past, like his father had. Kiba opened his mouth to ask something that had occurred to him, but was cut off when he had to cough again.

Niguman waited patiently, but he predicted the question. After Kiba's bout, he started to talk again. "You're wondering who my spy is, right? No one outside the Konoha community could have possibly known, right?"

He paused here, waiting for a response. To Niguman's disappointment, Kiba only gave a small nod. Clearing his throat, Niguman continued.

"Well, she was under your eye all along and you never noticed." Once again, there was hardly a response from Kiba. Sighing impatiently, Niguman finally burst out, "It was Moegi! She had been passing information to me for years!"

"M-Moegi?" Clearly Kiba had not been expecting this. He thought back and could only remember her dimly. She had been one of Konohamaru's friends, and she worshipped Naruto.

"It wasn't hard to get her to work for me. She did it willingly, as long as I gave her a few moments of pleasure."

Kiba blinked before opening his mouth, "You raped her."

Niguman shrugged indifferently. "She wanted it. She needed someone who could fulfill her wishes and more. I just gave her what she wanted."

"Pedophile," Kiba hissed at him, half in anger and half in pain. He was having quite a lot of difficulty breathing, and was instead gasping out unevenly.

"No respect for your elders? I thought I taught you better than that." Niguman lashed out with a whip, similar to those used to train animals. Kiba jumped out of the way and landed on all fours, instinctively growling.

"You still have the strength to stand?" Niguman looked quite startled, "Well, that is impressive…for you, anyway."

"What d'you mean by that?" Kiba glared at him.

"Nothing that you should concern yourself with." All of a sudden, Niguman multiplied so there were about ten of him. "Quadruple claws! Fangs of Fire!" The bunshins turned into tornadoes of fire, crashing into Kiba.

Kiba disappeared into a cloud of smoke. 'A bunshin?' Niguman cursed inwardly.

About ten meters away, Kiba rested against the broad tree trunk. He inhaled slowly, depicting where his friends were and how they were doing. 'Great, there's blood in the air. But something else is in the air too. I don't know what it is.'

Kiba stiffened, smelling a new scent. 'Well, at least we have allies coming,' he thought.

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Hanabi and her partner traveled in silence. After what felt like about an hour, Hanabi spoke up.

"Are we close to them yet?" she said impatiently, not pausing her jumping from branch to branch. The two had already passed the desert and now were in a forest.

"My kikaichu have reported that they are not too far ahead. If we hurry, we should reach them within half an hour." Hanabi's reply was given in a very frank manner.

"Anything to note? Is there something I should know beforehand?" Hanabi demanded, fearing the worse answer.

There was a brief hesitation here, as if her partner was unsure of himself. Finally, he said softly, "Despite our tries, there is almost no possibility that we will save all of them."

"It's that bad?" Hanabi inwardly cursed. Even if she knew none of these shinobi personally, they were still fellow shinobi. Besides, most of them were friends with her sister. 'Kiba. Hinata was on a team with Kiba.' She thought to herself, 'therefore, I should first go and save Kiba.'

"Don't favor any person more than another," a calm voice interrupted Hanabi's thoughts. "We must do our best to save all of them."

"You're one to talk," she muttered. "I bet you would save Kiba too because he was your teammate."

"…" Her partner didn't bother replying to that. By the pause, Hanabi knew that what she said had been right on the dot. She smiled slightly to herself.

"Hurry up!" Hanabi called, suddenly speeding up. "I don't want any of them to die because we were too slow to reach there in time."

"…Indeed."

* * *

Well, I've finally updated...My sincere apologies for taking this long. Final exams have been extremely annoying, as well as other activities that are very time draining.

But enough of excuses, the chapter is here! It's a bit shorter than what I was hoping for, but I wanted to get this posted. The jutsus and everything took me a long time to write since I had to do research on it. And now, everyone should know who Hanabi's partner is! Did you guys expect that?

Review! (in advance, I'm going on vacation so the updates may take a while...It'll probably be just a tiny bit slower than what it is now, but who knows, I may write faster!)

Achillea (an author who is extremely apologetic for being such a slow updater.)


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

"We're here." Shino told Hanabi.

"Where is everyone?" she scoured the area with her Byakugan. "Never mind, I see them. Everyone's spread out. Idiots, they should have stayed together."

"I'm going to help Shikamaru and Ino. You, go to Kiba's aid. I don't think his body will be able to hold much longer."

Hanabi glanced at Shino, confused. "What's wrong with Kiba? Shino, tell me. What is wrong with his body?"

Shino shook his head. "Don't ask questions. Just go now!" He darted in between trees and would have disappeared out of Hanabi's vision had she not have her bloodline-limit activated.

"Damn!" Hanabi exclaimed, darting in a different direction. She smiled a bit, thinking of her father's reaction if he had heard her use such 'unladylike' language. The smile quickly faded as she thought of Kiba.

"Dog-boy, you better not die on me or Hinata 'n' Shino'll kill me."

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Kankuro helped Temari onto her feet. "Man, sis, you've seriously got to lose weight," he groaned at her.

"Kankuro," he shivered at the tone of her voice. "If you want to die, I'd be happy to oblige that wish."

"Truce," he whimpered at her, hands held up in defeat.

"Anyways," Temari got serious, "we need a plan. Where is that Shikamaru when you need him?"

Kankuro got a considering look in his eyes. "Sis? I need you to distract 'Mr. Earth.' Preferably with your weasel."

"It's a bit too late for that isn't it." Their remaining opponent's voice came from behind the two. He was standing with his hands on his hips, grinning at them.

"Eh? Err…well, so long!" Kankuro released the smoke bomb that he had carefully concealed in his palm. Pulling Temari along with him, he quickly jumped away. When the two were finally out of the enemy's vision Temari shot Kankuro a glare.

"You didn't need to be so rough," she complained to him.

He pressed a palm onto her mouth. "Distract that guy. I need just the right moment to unleash the poison gas in Karasu. It's a new type; even more potent than the one I used to use. Best of all, there is no traces of it in the air."

Kankuro calmly tossed Temari a small bottle. "This protects you from the poison. I'm already immune, so you can drink it. Only about a quarter though, mind you, this is powerful stuff."

"Got it." Temari grinned at him before gulping down the liquid, cringing at the taste. "Ready? She bit her thumb and pressed it to the ground.

"Summoning! Kirikiri Mai! A ferret immediately appeared. It flew off, and after a few seconds, Temari turned to Kankuro.

"Three…two…one…" the forest was suddenly blown by a huge gust of wind. Trees were cut in half and flew in circles in the sky. The earthen wall that had formed was getting more and more cracks.

Mr. Earth snickered. "Just as I thought. The little girl's attacks stood no chance against my mighty earth defense. In fact, my offense is better than hers too."

He frowned when he started to feel slightly out of breath. 'Maybe I used too much chakra,' he chided himself.

Moments later, Mr. Earth fell to the ground. He felt fire rising in his bloodstreams and the pain paralyzed him. Then a voice from above his head spoke. He strained to see the owner of the voice, but his blurry vision wasn't helping.

"Well, 'Mari, you wanna finish him off?" Kankuro handed Temari a small kunai.

"It'll be my pleasure," she crouched down beside the prostrate figure. It was hard to believe that this nearly unconscious man had caused them so much trouble.

Temari whispered into his ear. "You know what? You're really lucky. If I knew where my friends are and if any of your comrades hurt them, you'd be in a lot more pain. As it is, I'm in a rush so I'll just finish it off quick." Kankuro gave an almost evil-looking smile.

"Bye bye Mr. Earth. It's time for sleep." She sang, plunging her kunai into his heart.

Kankuro nodded. "Come on, let's go find the others."

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Hanabi scoured the area with her Byakugan. She spotted a man, standing in a clear opening with no opponent facing him. Cocking an eyebrow, she searched further. Hiding behind a tree, she saw Kiba.

She headed towards him.

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"Hanabi? What're you d-doing h-here?" By then, Kiba's mind was already almost ceasing to function. He coughed a bit, covering his mouth even though it didn't matter. Old habits die hard, after all. When he removed his palm, it was covered in blood.

"Oh Kami help me. Kiba, are you alright?" Hanabi looked at his wounds, then back at his face. His coughing concerned her more than the wounds.

"I-I'm o-o-okay…" Kiba stuttered, neither of them believing his words.

"Kiba, you're losing too much blood. Your organs…they're not functioning properly. And your lungs have almost been blocked…and your heart…"

"H-Hanabi…f-fight…mo-more important…my f-father…b-beat…" Kiba was starting to have troubles talking. He couldn't breath.

Hanabi closed her eyes. She wouldn't let Kiba down, she couldn't. But seeing his labored breathing was scaring her. 'I am a chuunin of Konohagakure.' She thought to herself. 'I must complete my mission.'

Just as she was about to leave, a thought entered her mind and she voiced it. "Kiba, you mentioned your father. Is that man you were fighting your father?"

Kiba nodded weakly at her.

"But I didn't see any markings on his cheeks," Hanabi shot him a quizzical look.

He shook his head. "G-go," he rasped out at her.

The young Hyuuga didn't need any more encouraging. She was gone in a flash.

Kiba tried to call after her- he had one last question, but he couldn't gather enough breath to do so. 'Hinata? Are you truly dead? Please, I can't live without you.' He thought sadly, staring at the spot where Hanabi had recently occupied.

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Hanabi was quick to hide behind a tree. She could feel her heart beating furiously against her chest, nervousness, worry and anticipation mixing into one jumbled emotion.

'Kiba…' she shook her head. Now was definitely not the time to be distracted. She had to finish off this man, before Kiba got any worse. The more time she took, the more dangerous it would be for him.

'Shinobi rule 25. Shinobi rule 25.' She chanted in a silent mantra, focusing herself. 'I need to think of this man's weakness. If he is an Inuzuka, he'll be quite skilled in taijutsu. Most likely, he'll notice my eyes and avoid close combat.'

"I know you're there. You can come out now." Hanabi startled at the sound of a man's voice.

'Curses,' she thought, 'I was careless. Father would not be pleased.'

Hanabi retreated from her hiding spot, glaring furtively at Niguman(1). She considered what attack to use, but was interrupted by his talking.

'He sure likes to talk a lot…'

"I didn't expect they'd send a little girl as reinforcement. Come on, a little girl? Well, I guess I'll relieve you of the humiliation if you don't defeat me by killing." He started laughing heartily.

Her eyes narrowed. Hanabi reached into her pocket, pulling out two kunai. She twirled them around her finger, considering her choices.

'I could attack him straight on with weapons, or use my jutsus.'

Deftly, she tossed the two kunai at him. He jumped away with ease, still laughing.

"Is that all the poor widdle girly can do?"

The 'poor widdle girly' gave an inward smile. She pressed her hands together, forming multiple hand seals.

Kiba, who had limped over and was watching the battle, twitched when he found out that he didn't recognize the jutsu. 'Hanabi really is strong, probably more so than me and Hinata put together.' He sighed. Even if the young girl was known as the genius of the Hyuuga, only better than Neji because of the guidance he had given her, being upstaged was not at all pleasing.

Kiba sighed, and then winced as his injured body protested. 'S. I need to finish him off quick.'

Inside her head, Hanabi was doing a little victory dance. Kiba, she knew, was just to her right, and therefore, they were in a great position for attack. Niguman, who was oblivious to his son, would be unable to defend against both of them at once if they timed their moves properly.

"Aren't you gonna do anything?" Niguman gave her a feral smile, showing her his canines. They weren't nearly as sharp as Kiba's, but could cause a bit of fear in anyone who wasn't already used to the Inuzuka. And Hanabi was.

"I was just thinking about how lucky you are to be the first one to witness my newest jutsu, which I invented." She retorted.

Kiba grinned. Hanabi plus her own jutsu meant enemy going down.

"Hanabi no jutsu!(2)" The young girl cried, forming her last seal. Immediately, the area around Niguman erupted in fiery white fireworks, which the man cursed at when he saw that it was pure chakra, strong and visible. None of them were hitting him, which probably meant that the Hyuuga wasn't skilled enough to aim properly.

"Pathetic. None of them hit me," he yelled.

"Oh, but we're only getting to the good part," Hanabi held both of her palms out. She pulled her fingers into a fist, saying softly, "Hakke."

Niguman stiffened when he saw that the fireworks stopped exploding. They hovered mid-air, as if dangling on string. Suddenly, all of the rays shot for him.

"Damnit!" he cried, dodging the needle like chakra rays, but there were too many. Many hit his body, and he felt his insides erupt with pain.

"Who's the pathetic one now?" Hanabi asked him, eerily calm.

Niguman attempted to speak, ignoring the blood that had leaked from the corners of his mouth, but was cut off by a spiral of blue light, which was also laced with a golden glow.

"Hikari Tsuuga!(3)"

Kiba's father leapt away out of instinct, looking shocked. The jutsu cut through about ten trees before Kiba managed to stop it.

Niguman was turning pale as he saw his son's bloodied figure, swaying, but on his feet.

"I wasn't going to let the 'widdle girl' fight on her own, you know. I'm more decent than that." Kiba struggled to keep his voice steady, but it still wavered. Not to mention the fact that it sounded thin and not very confident at all.

The reply was a quiet chuckle.

"Sorry to interrupt the father-son moment, but I got things to do," the two men looked up at Hanabi, "You, Mr. I'm-so-confident-that-I'll-win-against-a-widdle-girl, are in my divination.

She was rewarded with a look of happiness and another of horror and fear.

"Hakke! Rokujuyon shou!(4)" Hanabi moved forward in an alarming speed, such that Kiba had to be impressed. Neji had obviously taught her well.

Niguman panicked, and he tried to stand, only to collapse onto his knees. Hanabi kicked him up, and proceeded to hit his chakra pores, sealing off his vital areas.

"Kiba," she shouted. The said boy nodded, sharpening his nails, ran, and in an instance, his entire hand had entered Niguman's chest. Mouth open in a silent scream, the man doubled forward. Kiba tugged his arm out, revealing a still beating heart.

"I told you I would make you pay. I told you I would kill you." With that, Kiba crumpled onto the floor, soaked with blood that was his and also, blood that did not belong to the dog-boy.

"Kiba! For Kami's sake, don't die on me now!" Hanabi dashed over, placing Kiba's head onto her lap. She cringed when she saw that her bare arms were already coated in the red liquid, even though she merely touched Kiba.

Feeling for his wrist, she searched for his pulse. Her curses were getting more vulgar when she couldn't feel his heartbeat.

"Kiba, don't die. You can't…Hinata is alive. She's waiting for you at home, has been for so long. You can't leave her now- she needs you. We all do. Kiba…" Hanabi felt herself sobbing, tears falling onto Kiba's limp body.

Fingers still wrapped around Kiba's wrist, she felt a slight change. Nearly shouting out in joy, Hanabi felt a weak pulse, too slow for comfort, but at least it was there.

His breathing was shallow and labored, sounding more like wheezes than proper breaths.

'Kiba…' Hanabi closed her eyes in anguish. 'What do I do now? Kiba, what would Hinata do now? What would she say if she knew I lied to you?'

* * *

(1) I ket forgetting to mention the meaning of 'Niguman.' Basically, 'nigu' means muscles and 'man' means strong. Well, now you know! 

(2) It could be that Hanabi named her jutsu after herself, which people do. However, hanabi also means fireworks so the name works.

(3) Tsuuga is Kiba's spiral thingy he does and hikari means light. This attack is a stronger version of his original move.

(4) I forgot the name of Neji's attack so I just wrote the literal '64 strikes.' I'd love it if anyone could correct me (for some reason, search engines don't work on this computer so I can't do any research at all T-T)

Once again, a late update. I know I said in my other story that I would update quickly. But this time, I actually have reasonable excuses!

First, computer got this virus that couldn't be removed. It had to be reset, and as a result, I lost all my stories. (Trying to recover them now.)

Second, I was sick. Enough said.

Third: although this isn't as logical as the other excuses, it is enough for me. It was my sort-of birthday (It's on another calendar that's different than the one we usually use. It changes every year and repeats every 19 years if I'm correct. This year, there are two 'seventh month' so I get to celebrate my birthday 3 times! Yay! This is for people who wish they had more than 1 birthday every year. However, I only get presents once. But who cares! I get cake!)

Anyways, this is only half of what I wanted to post, but I figured that sooner beats longer.

And now, to leave you with questions:

Is Hinata really dead? What did Hanabi mean when she said she was lying?

Will Kiba die before he sees the possibly dead Hinata? Will they meet in Heaven or something?

Does Hanabi have a crush on Kiba?

Why hasn't Temari lost weight during the war? Is it because of that stone armor thingy she always wears that makes her so heavy?

Um...the last question really doesn't matter...yeah...

Review! They make me feel so unsleepy! (contrary to how I'm feeling right now)


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Shikamaru closed his eyes. 'There, found them,' he thought. His shadow stretched and gradually formed a line, twisting around trees and other obstacles. Stealthily, he took off, occasionally checking to see if he was still on track, keeping more attention on not being seen. Finally, he spotted the man, carrying the shell of Ino.

Shikamaru immediately formed a few hand seals. "Kage henge no jutsu," he chanted, and disappeared into a shadow. Moving unnoticed, Shikamaru edged closer to his enemy, and the body that Ino's life depended on.

"My pretty," the ninja cooed, stroking the silken blond strands of hair, "it's a lovely day isn't it? Such a gorgeous day shouldn't be dampened by darkness, should it? Not the right day for children and shadows to play." He casually tossed a kunai to where Shikamaru had blended with a tree's shadow.

'Shit, how did he know I was here?' Shikamaru emerged and dodged the weapon.

"I knew you wouldn't do things the easy way. But come on, we shouldn't be fighting on such a beautiful day. Why don't you just return to your village? The girl can't mean that much to you."

The lazy nin growled. "Give her back. I won't leave without her."

The other smiled. "I thought as much. But you can't attack me as long as I have her. Trapped, aren't you? Why don't you forfeit? That way, you can still keep your own pathetic life."

"Never."

'But he's right,' Shikamaru groaned, 'I can't attack him if he has Ino's body. How troublesome…"

"Don't jump to conclusions. Such is the way of life for shinobi, and I would assume you should know as much." A cool voice startled both of them.

'Is that…?'

'Who is that? What…?'

Shino stepped forward, the light gleaming off his sunglasses. "I have had my bugs surround this area. Surrender her and you won't die so painfully."

The man froze in fear. He remembered the Aburame, and how easily they had slaughtered his entire family. He was the only survivor, left to mourn for all those he had lost.

_It was a pretty day, with the sun shining and a gentle breeze caressing the leaves of the tree. There were no clouds in the sky, and everything was perfect._

_But something was wrong with the scene. A boy, covered in blood not his own, pulled at the rubble, desperately searching for something, anything. He stopped when a small voice called him. _

_"Oh, 'tsuo. 'tsuo." Panicked, the boy dug even more furiously, until he uncovered the small body of a girl. She was stained, red dripping from her lips. And he still thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. On her finger was a small ring, silver, carved exquisitely with a dragon. _

_"'chiru!" the boy cried, holding her limp form in his thin arms, her golden hair falling like a veil on him. She looked at him with her blue eyes, eyes that he had gotten to know so well, holding a vastness so deep he had only begun to comprehend them. And now they were clouding over, covering everything he had wanted. _

_"Matsuo…please…I…I…" Her stiff body relaxed, already turning cold. She had departed this world, leaving behind a broken world and one broken boy. The boy that she would have wed. _

"No! You can't have her! Not this time. I won't let you!" The man tried to run in fear, but with a wave of his hand, Shino let his bugs go. They paraded forward, covering the body. Pain and grief stricken, he let go of Ino, Shikamaru catching her before she landed.

"Michiru! Michiru!" the ninja cried, tears running down his face.

The bug boy nodded. "Let's go. We are done here." He turned around and walked away. Shikamaru gave a small grunt, but before he joined up with Shino, he shifted his glance back at the man who was being devoured. The enemy, though now he didn't feel like one anymore, reached his hand up. Shikamaru glimpsed a silver ring, shiny and carved, before the flesh was covered in a horde of bugs.

He closed his eyes and turned around, missing a quiet "Michiru. I'll finally see you again."

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Lee panted, catching his breath. Seconds later, he flew up into the air, dodging Tenten's attack. She jumped up with him, her speed double of what it usually was. Her limbs were moving on their own.

Lee collapsed upon landing, his chakra spent. He chuckled quietly. 'So is this how the great green beast of Konoha will parish? In the hands of the beautiful flower?'

Inside, Tenten awoke, seeing Lee in such a state. She tried to open her mouth, but her body wouldn't obey her. 'Lee, get away. Please.'

Her comrade and friend didn't move from his spot, still kneeling on the floor, a grin on his face. He was determined that at the very least, he would die with a smile on his face. That way, he was still bringing Gai pride. It was the least he could do.

"NO!" Tenten shouted, snapping Lee back into reality. She was clutching her head, doubled over. "I won't! Lee is my friend! Stop it!"

The enemy furrowed his brow in confusion. This had never happened before. All his other 'guinea pigs' had obeyed and even killed their own parents. Why was this girl unique?

He didn't have time to think anymore. The weapons mistress was beside him, throwing punches, kicks, slaps, everything she could do. He dodged, but his speed was nowhere near as fast as Lee's and she was moving too fast for him to see.

A knee in his gut sent the man crashing into the trees. Tenten prepared a kunai, sticking it into his chest. He gave a silent cry, before slumping forward, the girl's kunai still stuck inside him.

"Don't you dare underestimate me," Tenten hissed, unaware of Lee's awed expression. She turned back to her friend, rushing beside him and gently helping him up.

Suddenly, a familiar pain bloomed and Tenten uttered a faint cry. She felt her body go numb again, and her hand reached for her pouch, despite her mind's refusal.

"Tenten?" Lee asked, his eyes filled with concern.

Soundlessly, Tenten drove her knife into his throat, horror and nausea filling her as she watched one of her best friends give her a look of terror before falling onto the ground. Blood running everywhere, memories slammed into her, as she recalled her parents, her brother, her family, all covered in the same crimson.

Tenten blacked out, onto Lee's freshly killed body. Behind her, the man gave one final chuckle before letting go of his body.

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Okay, finally finished it. Yes, I am aware of how long it has been and I'll apologize and promptly blame it on my chaotic schedule. And I'm finally back to the good computer where I have search engines! Yay!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and in fact, to people who read my story! You keep me motivated to write and to keep coming up with new ideas to add to this plot.

And now, the questions.

Is Lee really truly as in never coming back dead? Or will he?

Is Ino all right? Will she die before Shikamaru and Shino can save her?

What about Kiba? He wasn't even mentioned in here.

Finally and ultimately, Why won't my line button work? -sobs-

Oh yes, expect an update less than two weeks later.

Achillea


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Hanabi was biting her lip, anxious and scared. She wished that Hinata was here, because at least her older sister would know what to do in this situation. Not to mention that Hinata was quite a good healer, and Hanabi knew nothing.

Well, almost nothing. The young girl could use her eyes to see that many of Kiba's bones were broken, and that his organs were straining to keep going, to keep his body alive. And there was nothing she could do about it.

'I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.' She thought to herself. Hanabi knew that she couldn't leave Kiba by himself, and that it may be too late by the time Shino came. But one ray of hope was that Kiba's heart began beating again, causing her to exhale a sigh of relief.

"Shino, hurry up. Please, I'm begging you even," she murmured.

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Shikamaru followed Shino, until they reached where "Ino" lay. The lazy nin stepped forward, placing her real body down and gently lifting the one that contained two souls. He shook her, trying to wake her up.

"Ino…Ino…troublesome woman," he grumbled at her when she didn't respond.

"She is very depleted of chakra. I can use my bugs to give her some of mine so that she can release the jutsu." Shino offered to Shikamaru.

"Well, why didn't you say that earlier," said a cross chuunin as he watched Shino's bugs fly onto Ino, and then dug into her skin. Moments later, the girl opened her eyes.

"S-Shikamaru?" she asked.

"Later. First, release." He spoke simply, believing it to be the only way for Ino to actually listen to her. Any more complicated words would have her arguing with him. Troublesome…

She tried to, but there was no strength in her limbs to lift her arms. Sighing, Shikamaru quickly helped her hands into the right position.

"Release," she whispered, and Shikamaru felt the body tremble before completely going still. Very unceremoniously, he dumped it aside.

Ino was back in her body, albeit unconscious again. Shikamaru breathed a sigh when he saw her chest rise and fall. His quiet relief was not lost to Shino, but the other boy simply chose to ignore it, instead gesturing at the enemy girl's body.

"Shall I destroy it, or would you think it wise to bring her back to Suna for any questioning?" he muttered.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I haven't been told of our current situation so I can't give any advice. If you ask me, I say we kill her now and rid ourselves of a burden. It's too troublesome…

"Yes." Shino called forward his bugs and they quickly feasted, silently delighted at how much their owner was feeding them.

"Well," Shikamaru said, balancing Ino on his back, "Let's go find Kiba, Lee and Tenten. And where are Temari and Kankuro?"

"Lee first. I can sense him nearby. Hanabi can take care of Kiba for now."

The trio left the area. They came across a body of a man, dead. He was smiling though, freakishly, and Shikamaru noticed that all his teeth had been sharpened to points.

"Where are Lee and Tenten?" He asked, realizing that neither were in sight.

Shino tapped his shoulder and pointed to a clearing that was blocked by leaves. Slightly confused, the shadow boy walked there. The color in Shikamaru's face drained away when he caught sight of the massive amount of blood, and in the middle of it, Lee and Tenten.

"What…" he begun.

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You're probably wondering why this chapter is so short. I am too, don't worry. Leaving tomorrow with absolutely no hope of touching a computer during the entire trip (no electricity.) The next chapter will be better, and it will be started as soon as I get back. And I promise a fast update (meaning around two weeks from now, seeing as I'm gone during the first.)

Questions...

What will Hanabi do? And why won't Hinata all of a sudden jump out and fly like superman and come and save Kiba?

Since when do Shino's bugs eat people?

What will happen to Lee and Tenten?

Um...It seems to be a long time since I've mentioned Temari or Kankuro...

Why is a black cat wondering outside?


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Rushing over in panic, Shikamaru threw himself on the ground beside the two, using shaking fingers to feel for their pulses. Tenten's was quite weak, but it was there and he was certain she would be all right. But when he felt Lee's wrist, there was a dull stillness when there should have been even the lightest fluttering.

Holding back an anguished cry, Shikamaru stood, Tenten in his arms. He turned away, and Shino raised his eyebrows when he saw tears shimmering down the other boy's cheeks.

"So he didn't make it?" Shino asked, the subtlest hint of sadness in his voice. Shikamaru shook his head, fearing that if he spoke, he wouldn't be able to hold back sobs.

"My bugs will take care of his body." The bug boy said, and watching for the other's reaction. He received an almost defeated nod before his swarm covered their friend's body.

Squeezing back tears, Shikamaru returned and numbly handed Tenten to Shino, who took her into his arms. Picking up Ino, he cleared his throat.

"I guess we have to go find Kiba then?" Shikamaru said, voice thick from unshed tears.

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Hanabi alternated from monitoring Kiba to praying. She never believed in God, dead spirits or the 'other world' but now, she realized that there was nothing else to do. Clasping her small hands together, Hanabi prayed to her mother, dead from when she was born, and to everyone who died.

"Please, don't take him away. There are people here who need Kiba. Please, let him stay." She murmured, casting a glance at Kiba's pale face. He was gasping faintly, and the blood still was trickling from his wounds.

Hearing a small noise, Hanabi whispered fiercely, "Byakugan." She scanned around, and gave a cry of relief when she saw the familiar figure of Shino, approaching quickly along with another.

"Hanabi." Shino said upon seeing her, and he placed Tenten onto the ground.

"Oh god, Shino. Help him. Help Kiba." Shino gaped in shock when Hanabi through herself, sobbing, into his arms. He could not remember once when the young girl had cried. Maybe it was the stress of war catching up with her.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had already kneeled down beside Kiba. His tears were falling onto the dog boy's skin, merging in with the blood.

"Kiba…not you too…" he whispered.

Shino joined him, prying Hanabi off of his jacket. He very gently lifted Kiba, as if Kiba was a fragile object that would be broken if anything remotely harmed him. Cradling him, Shino sighed.

"He'll hold on. But I don't know if he will make it back." Came Shino's diagnosis.

"You knew, didn't you? You knew about Kiba' s illness."

"Of course. I am his teammate, and that is what teammates are for."

"You are more than just his teammate, Shino. You are his friend." Hanabi said, approaching beside him. Shino chose to remain silent, his lips pressed tightly together. Silent tears were forming in his eyes, but were hidden behind the dark sunglasses.

"I will carry him back. My bugs will allow me to keep him steady as much as possible so that we do not further irritate his wounds. Should his broken ribs pierce his lungs; there is no hope for survival."

It was at this moment that Temari and Kankuro came, crashing from the bushes. Temari's sharp eyes assessed the situation.

'One unconscious, one seriously wounded, two leaf backup…but hey, where's that eyebrow dude? He's not…" Temari sighed and spoke firmly. "All right. Hurry it up. There is no time for grieving now."

The others turned to her in surprise, having not noticed the two Sand shinobi. Briskly, Temari walked over and calmly swung Tenten over her shoulder. She exchanged a look with her brother, and they turned towards the designated path.

Wiping away his tears, Shikamaru went too, stopping to (gently) pick up Ino. At last, Shino and Hanabi came as well. Gravely silent, they dashed towards Suna at full speed, if only to see if they could save Kiba's life.

But sometimes trying isn't enough. Yet, as Shikamaru willed his weak body to keep moving, he knew it was all they had.

* * *

Okay, doing something special with this chapter. Even if it's short and probably not as well written as some of the others, I have dedicated it to someone who I knew. He recently committed suicide, so this is for his memory.

Reviews please.

Achillea


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Arriving at the village was like finally getting a drink of water after days in a hot desert, when you've all but given up hope. By then, Shikamaru offered to carry Kiba and Shino grudgingly agreed. Hanabi even started crying at the sight of Suna, looming majestically in the middle of the sand.

At the gates, there were a few shinobi positioned, weapons ready in case of attack. Shikamaru watched Shino as he gave whatever proof he had that he was indeed an ally and a leaf nin. The bugs pretty much cinched it though. For the others, a young girl of only twelve or thirteen was called.

On her cheeks were two red triangles, and beside her was a medium sized dog. Shikamaru realized with a start that she was Kiba's cousin.

"Hanabi!" she called. The Hyuuga answered with equal relief. But the girl's smile immediately disappeared as she caught smell and sight of Kiba, lying in Shino's arms. She gasped, but immediately struggled to restrain herself from any further reactions.

"The hospital's close. Go!" Hanabi nodded, before giving the girl a quick hug. "He'll be alright, Tsukimei. You know him…h-he'd never give up."

Tsukimei gave her a slow nod. "Take care of Kiba, Hanabi. Please. Please don't let my cousin die." She turned away, after Shikamaru saw the pale tears trickle down her cheeks. He wondered briefly how many friends and family she had seen die, even at the age when he was just a genin.

It was a depressing thought.

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The hospital was cramped full, and stank of sweat and blood among other things. Medic-nins were rushing about, hurrying to save anyone they could. The heat was nearly unbearable.

Almost as soon as Shikamaru and his companions stepped into the hospital, he was grabbed and pulled into a more spacious room. He looked up to see it was Sakura.

"Kiba…" she breathed. He sighed and she gestured for him to put Kiba down onto an empty bed.

"Go freshen up, Shikamaru. There's nothing you can do. Tsunade's here. I'm sure she'll tend to Kiba." He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again when he realized he would only get in the way.

Shikamaru sighed again. "What use am I if I can't even help save my best friend?" he mumbled, glancing back to see Kiba's blood soaking the sheets, and he left before he knew he would start crying.

"Boys don't cry," he told himself.

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There were a few buildings reserved for the villagers of Konoha. After finding the others he came with, Shikamaru departed and made for the first building.

There was a large central area, where many people were gathering into clans, rejoicing as they found any members of their family. Shikamaru looked. He didn't see anyone he knew. Of course, most of them were familiar in the terms that he knew their faces, but that was it.

In the second building, he glimpsed Gai, standing and directing people where to go. He walked towards the man, footsteps landing as heavy as his heart was.

"Gai-sensei," he began. Gai spun around, gasped, and before Shikamaru could avoid it, enveloped him in a giant embrace. Strangely, Shikamaru didn't mind it as much as he always though he would.

"Shikamaru, how wonderful it is to see you well," Gai spoke in a loud voice.

"Neji's dead," Shikamaru said flatly. "He died to save Lee."

Gai gaped at him, trembling. Shikamaru darted his eyes away, as if it would help, as if it could be any less piercing to the heart. He made himself will away tears and started to talk again, but was interrupted by Gai.

"Neji…he can't be…to save Lee? Is Lee alright?"

Shikamaru subconsciously took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Lee died in a fight. Tenten's in the hospital if you want to see her" _But after all that, I doubt she'll want to live. _He thought mentally.

Gai froze up, unable to move or breathe. Shikamaru nearly winced, but he turned away and started walking away. He hated being the one to deliver bad news. And he let his sorrow be buried into his heart. Just like the kunai that had killed Lee.

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In front of the third and penultimate building, Shikamaru stopped. He felt so dead inside; he wondered whether it showed on his face. He wondered, even if he wiped the months of dirt and grime off his face, whether or not he would ever look the same as he did before the fighting started.

Suddenly, he didn't want to go inside. He didn't want to see the people crying and screaming when they heard that their loved ones had died. He was tired of it.

Somehow, Shikamaru closed his eyes and forced himself through the door. He heard one voice only, and it called, "Shikamaru! My baby!" and he was lost in his mother's arms. Ordinarily, Shikamaru would have complained and said in his usual drawling voice, "how troublesome." But this time, he felt after all the months and hardships he had endured, he was finally home.

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Hanabi drifted into the room her family had been assigned. Hiashi stood there, looking as regal as ever, though thinner and more worn out. He nodded at her to acknowledge her presence. Behind her, Shino whispered a quick "I shall see you soon," and melted away.

Hanabi dreaded ever entering the room. Hiashi already was narrowing his eyes. "Have you been crying, my daughter? Only those who are weak cry. This is not befitting for the heir of the Hyuuga clan."

She lost it. She was tired of his lectures and all his teachings. Hanabi practically screamed, "What Hyuuga clan? Most of the elders are dead, Neji is dead, Hinata is no better than dead and we have nothing. Nothing!"

Hiashi stood for a few moments in shock before rage started showing on his face, one that rarely showed any expression.

Hanabi stopped him from saying anymore with a quiet, "Who is it that is weak here, father? You, who is in denial, or I, too young, yet having to accept the truth that I see?" and left, slamming the door shut.

She found her feet heading towards Shino's room, and she found his arms. Breaking into sobs, Hanabi collapsed into Shino's patient embrace.

_How broken are we? _She wondered, _what has this war done to the people? _

* * *

Okay, finally updated! I've been loaded with an abundance of tests and projects, the worst being an English project worth 30 percent of the term mark due two days before exams...I'm in the middle of exams right now, but I got tired of not updating.

Almost vacation! I won't be here for two weeks starting next week, but I will update soon after returning, if I can. I am hoping to nearly finish it by the time winter vacation is over.

Thanks, and reviews! Of course, special thanks to those who have been reviewing!

Achillea.


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

It had been at least a week since Shikamaru had visited the hospital. He would walk to the entrance, and stand because he didn't know what to do, what to say if anyone died. In the entire building, death clung to every room and every person, it's vulgar stench blocking away every other scent. There was an old saying "What you don't know can't hurt you," and though Shikamaru tended to scoff when Asuma would pull out another one of his old proverbs, he had to admit that they held some truth. In this case, at least.

Shikamaru swore Asuma got those from a fortune cookie. But when he asked, Asuma only winked at him and said, "Boy, when you get to my age, then you'll be as wise as me! Wisdom comes with age, you know." Shikamaru once rolled his eyes at that. Now, he would do anything to hear it again.

This time, his sensei couldn't be here to save his sorry ass anymore. This time, he was on his own.

It was another day, and Shikamaru found himself standing in front of the same bleak building, hesitating. It wouldn't be long before he was pulled to another mission- they were horribly short of shinobi- and who knew how long he would live after that?

"Shikamaru!" a voice called to him. Turning, Shikamaru saw Hanabi running towards him, her blank eyes looking grave. "You have been requested to meet with the Hokage. It's time to start doing missions."

He frowned. "Fine. But there's still something I have to do." Taking a deep breath, he walked into the hospital.

Inside was a chaotic scene, medic nins running back and forth, each time carrying a stretcher that bore yet another casualty, sometimes they were alive and breathing, but others even Shikamaru could see wouldn't last long, with his limited knowledge of medicine. He stood awkwardly in the midst of the pushing, shouting, and hysterical crying, feeling very unsure.

It scared him. He couldn't remember ever being so unsure in his life, but yet, the war changed that. Nothing was the same. Nothing.

"Shikamaru!" He was called for the second time. Sakura appeared beside him, out of breath, and shooting her words out like kunais. "Ino, room 13, she's been asking for you. Flowers, pretty ones. Lee sent to burial grounds. Tenten is having post-trauma fits, room 11. Kiba..."

He gulped, but kept his face cooly emotionless. "What about Kiba?"

"He's...well, he's alive. You guys got him in just in time. The thing is...Shikamaru, you have to tell him this...he'll never fight again. His body was pushed beyond its limit."

Shikamaru let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "So..."

"He's alive, Shikamaru. Be thankful for that. Second floor, first room to your right. I have to go now," she ran quickly, no doubtedly to save another life. But right before she disappeared altogether from his sight, Shikamaru said, "What about Hinata?"

Sakura hesitated. "She's resting. She was in pretty bad shape when they brought her in, but we managed to heal her. Thing is, she's blind."

"Blind?" he furrowed his brows.

"Yes." With that, Sakura dashed off, leaving Shikamaru still staring at where she left. He wondered how she managed to continue, day after day, even after watching her closest friends die. Then a memory flashed, from the days of their first mission where Ino had been knocked unconscious and Shikamaru and Chouji kept vigil over her bedside.

_"I should have protected her. I should have seen it coming," Shikamaru muttered furiously to himself. He held his head in his hands, thoroughly feeling guilty. Beside him, Chouji munched on his chips thoughtfully._

_"You shouldn't," he said suddenly._

_"Pardon?"_

_"You shouldn't blame yourself. No one can predict the future, Shikamaru."_

_"But I should..." Chouji glared at him, completely contradicting his friendly nature. Later, Shikamaru realized it was the only time Chouji had ever been angry at him._

_"You should nothing. Shikamaru, we're not God. Even you can't protect everyone. We're only shinobi."_

_Shikamaru bit his lip. "Yeah..." Chouji returned to his munching._

_Then Shikamaru whispered, too quietly for Chouji to hear, "but I should have tried harder. I should have."_

He gulped and started the long walk down to Ino's room. When he reached the door, as quietly as he could, he twisted the doorknob. Ino was sitting on the white hospital bed closest to the window, with six other patients on the other beds. It was clear that the hospital couldn't fit all the people who were injured, resorting to cramping people together.

She turned her head, caught sight of him, and gasped. Her blond hair, cut short, hung into her blue eyes, obscuring them. For once, Ino seemed to be speechless. Then she ran to him and flung her arms around his thin waist, and said without pausing in between, "Oh my god Shikamaru why haven't you visited me I've been so worried did you forget about me how are the others what's happening?" Finally she stopped, to Shikamaru's relief. But he gave a small smile, because at least some things would never change.

"Sorry," he offered, knowing that it wasn't enough.

Ino let her eyes drift onto him, as if inspecting for any damages. But then she noticed something, "Shikamaru...you forgot to bring flowers."

"Sorry," he said again.

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After leaving Ino, and enduring her many protests since she predicted that Shikamaru wouldn't be visiting for a long time due to his laziness, Shikamaru headed down the stairs to Tenten's room. The first thing he noticed was that the room was very dim, only the small glow of one solitary lightbulb lit the room. Tenten had her hands tied behind her back, and he heard her sobbing long before he actually saw her tears.

"Shi-Shikamaru?" she whispered hoarsely, her desparate eyes scaring him.

"Y-yeah," he replied, trying to sound casual.

"Please...please..."

He shivered inside, even though he had predicted this and prepared himself before entering the room. It was worse than he thought.

_Then again, how do you predict how someone would act after everyone she loved was killed _he lectured himself.

"Please kill me!" Tenten cried, her voice raising. Quickly, Shikamaru shushed her, so she continued in a lower tone. "I don't want to live. Shikamaru, th-they're gone. I don't want to live, not without Neji and Lee. Please, please!"

He didn't respond; didn't know how to respond.

"Do you know, Shikamaru, what it's like to have to wake up every day knowing they're gone. Do you know what it's like knowing I'll never feel his arms around me again, never hear his voice calling me? It hurts." she continued softly, so that Shikamaru had to lean to hear. "I go to sleep, every night, and you know? All I wish is to never wake up again. Never have to open my eyes because I know I won't ever see him again."

Shikamaru felt a wave of sympathy for her, because it was true that he didn't know what it was like. He couldn't even imagine it. Then he came to a conclusion, and even years after, he still didn't know whether he made the right decision or not. But it didn't matter then.

"Here," Shikamaru said, using a kunai to cut her ropes, and then he gently placed it into her waiting hands. She trembled, looking small and lost, but he caught a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Thank you...thank you..."

"Hey, no visiters are allowed." A loud angry voice came from outside. Shikamaru called, "right, sorry!" he looked back at Tenten. "Then, this is goodbye. See you someday." He walked out into the bright light, while she had to stay in the dark. But not for long.

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Kiba was sitting on his bed, staring hollowly at the white wall in front of his eyes. They tried to hide it, but he could hear them talking about him, saying he'd never be a shinobi again. He wasn't as clueless as people thought.

_Well, at least I'm still alive. Damn, must have caused a few more grey hairs on the Hokage's head. _Kiba smiled. Well, seeing as he was still stuck and immobile, it was reassuring that he could at least still cause some trouble. The only other thing that was killing him was that no one would tell him where Hinata was. He spent hours awake during the night, wondering.

If Hinata was dead, could he live without her?

Shikamaru let himself into the room without bothering to knock. Surprised, Kiba gaped at him, leading Shikamaru to think that he had been too deep in his thoughts to notice Shikamaru's scent. That, or he was unable to do so.

"Kiba," Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru."

"You know." This wasn't a question, but a statement. He didn't need Kiba to confirm anything.

"Where's Hinata? How is she?" Kiba shot at him, completely ignoring his previous statement. It didn't surprise Shikamaru in the least, because Kiba always placed her in front of himself. _But she never noticed. _Hinata was more like Naruto than she thought.

"Calm down, she's alive." _But she's lost herself. _Shikamaru didn't say.

"Can I see her? Has Shino seen her? Is she okay? What-" Kiba broke off coughing. "Sorry, still am not completely healed, but I'll go back as soon as possible,"

"Kiba..." Shikamaru found himself speechless for the second time that day. "Yes she's fine. No, wait until she's a bit better before you see her. And last thing, don't lie to yourself."

He was replied with a grin. "Sheesh Shikamaru, didn't know you'd be so cruel. Bet you Hinata's been asking for me. Say, next time you come to visit, could ya bring flowers so I can give them to her?"

Shikamaru kept a straight face. "Kiba, stop it."

"Stop what?"

"I'm leaving." Shikamaru headed for the door. He knew he was overreacting, but he was stressed and tired, and the thing that scared him most was how Kiba was underreacting. He had to balance them out.

"Shikamaru..." Kiba whispered, and when Shikamaru looked back, he saw Kiba's tears sliding down his face, all the fake smiles and jokes gone. "What can I do? What have I got left?"

"You've got your life, Kiba." It wasn't a very good answer, and Shikamaru knew it.

"She doesn't love me." Shikamaru didn't have to ask who _she _was. Before the war, Kiba constantly hinted at it when he was chattering with Neji and Shikamaru, though it was ignored by both because they dismissed it as only part of his rambling.

"Shikamaru, it _hurts." _

Falling in love, Shikamaru decided, was seriously overrated.

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Yes, I've completely given up with a schedule.

This chapter is slightly depressing, ne? More action in the next one, less talking.

Please read and review!

Achillea


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Even though it had been more than a week since Shikamaru and his friends had gotten back, the Hokage still hadn't sent him on any missions apart from basic tasks such as helping transport the injured. He assumed she was purposefully giving him the easiest missions, and was thankful. Still, it came as no surprise when at last she called him to her temporary office.

"Shikamaru, I have a mission for you. These are the details," Tsunade handed him a stack of paper. Shikamaru quickly skimmed over the pages before looking up at her.

"Who else is coming?" he asked.

"Well, most of the jounins already have missions. Hanabi and Shino are both in the wind country; Tsukimei, Kiba's cousin, is in the earth country; Konohamaru and many of his friends are in the water country...well, you see my point," she responded wearily.

"So who's on my team?"

Tsunade shifted through a few sheets of paper until evidently, she found what she needed. "Hm...I'm sending Naruto with you."

"Naruto? You mean..."

"Ah yes. He just got back two nights ago so I'm not surprised that you haven't seen him. He is the only one that is not injured and that I can spare at the moment, so you'll have to make do with just the two of you."

Shikamaru sighed. "This would be a A-rank mission I presume?"

"Unfortunately. In fact, it would most likely have ranked as S-class."

"Alright, I'll go find him..."

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Naruto wasn't particularly hard to spot. Even amidst the confusion and desparation that lingered about the city, everyone knew Naruto. And so Shikamaru approached his friend, one he hadn't seen for a long time and no doubtedly might not be able to see again after the war. Shikamaru was apprehensive for reasons even he didn't know as he quietly stepped up beside the blond.

"Yo," he said quietly. Naruto turned around in surprise and a large grin spread accross his face.

"Shikamaru! Oh man I haven't seen you for so long. How are you? Fine right? Well, not really fine, but still, how's everything? What have you been up-" Naruto was cut off by Shikamaru's angry tone.

"You are more like Kiba than you think. What the hell is with people pretending nothing's wrong?" He muttered angrily. Immediately, Naruto's face fell, his blue eyes retaining a more serious expression. Pain haunted his defeated sigh.

"Chouji's dead. Lee's dead. Heck, all of Gai's team is dead. What more do you want me to do?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "It's not what I want you to do. It's what you have to. Acting like nothing's wrong won't help with the pain any more than just letting it out."

"I know," Naruto scrunched his fingers into a fist and punched it to the tree beside him. It let out a large 'crack' and splintered up and down the trunk. "But," he added, "that won't stop me from becoming the Hokage. I will survive. I promised Lee that I would."

"You've grown up," noted Shikamaru, almost wistfully. "Sheesh, growing up is so troublesome."

Naruto smiled again before noticing the paper clenched in his friend's hand. "What's that?" he asked.

"Mission. It's only the two of us."

Naruto regarded him seriously. "We'd better move or Tsunade's gonna kick my ass again."

Some things, decided Shikamaru, never changed.

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Kiba's door was already opened when Shikamaru went to find him. The genius had no intentions of rubbing in the fact that he could go on missions while his friend...could probably never do so again, but he figured Kiba would appreciate not being left out of things. Besides, it would make everything easier if it was the last time they would ever meet each other again.

Shikamaru shook his head. No, he had once promised Chouji that he wouldn't think about such things; that he would just face life as casually as he watched the clouds float by in the sky. Still, a painful knot that he couldn't explain rose in his heart when he knocked quietly on the door.

"Shika?" Kiba's voice sounded weary, almost as if he already knew the message that was about to be delivered to him.

Shikamaru pushed the door fully open to be greeted with the sight of Kiba on the floor, his things strewn around him. Kiba was calmly packing his many weapons and other tools into his pack, pausing only to examine the sharpness of his knives.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shikamaru asked, though he already figured it out.

"Going with you guys. I'm not about to stay behind while you guys are off fighting. It's bad enough that I wasn't able to accompany Shino- the Hokage forbid me- but at the very least I'm not about to miss out on this mission."

"Tsunade..."

"has already given me permission. 'Sides Shika, I'm not exactly doing any good lying on a hospital bed collecting dust, am I?" Kiba looked up and shot a grin, his fangs gleaming.

Shikamaru sighed. He knew this would be an argument he would lose and that it would be a waste of his breath to argue, but it was a force of habit to protest against his best friend fighting a losing battle. "Look Kiba...this is stupid. You're not fully healed, you're severly weakened in fact and Akamaru" he hesitated, "and you aren't exactly in a situation that will result in a positive outcome either...Not to mention that Hinata needs you most right now."

Kiba snorted and narrowed his eyes. "Hinata? I would have; no, I did understand somewhat when you wouldn't let me see her. I thought it was because she was still unconscious, or that you thought I was too injured to see her or something like that. But damn Shikamaru, why didn't you tell me?"

Shikamaru sighed, "so I take it you know?"

"Hanabi told me before she left. Said that I should know because it would have killed me to find out later."

"Kiba-" the mentioned boy stood up suddenly, cutting Shikamaru from further comments.

"I've got to go somewhere first. I'll meet up with you and Naruto in fifteen minutes by the front gates, kay?" He started walking away.

"Wait Kiba. Just tell me why you're doing this"_ as if I don't know the answer already._

"To prove it. To prove that I'm not second best, that I am stronger than Naruto." He closed the door behind him, leaving Shikamaru alone in a eerily empty room

-

_-To prove that I'm not weak_

_To prove that I deserve her, that Naruto isn't_

_To prove that I truly love her_

_-_

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Kiba walked the distance between his room and Hinata's slowly, afraid of something that he didn't know. The room was dark and she was lying still on the sterile bed, bandages wrapped tightly around her eyes. The only light in the room was a bluish one, cast from a lamp in the corner. It illuminated her in a inhuman glow, making it seem as if she was sleeping peacefully bathed by moonbeams.

Kiba stepped softly, making sure he wouldn't wake her up even though he knew that she wasn't just sleeping.

It just hurt less this way.

"Hinata..." he cleared his throat. "Hinata...I know I haven't seen you in a long time or talked to you. I know you probably can't hear me right now and that I'm wasting my time but-"

"But I really just wanted you to know that I l-...that I miss you a lot. So does Shino but you know, he'd never say that. Bug freak or not, he actually does care you know." Kiba took out a coin from one of his pockets.

"Do you remember the game we used to play? Back when we were still young, before every mission? We must have stopped after that mission when we, I mean me and Shino, tried to rescue Sasuke. It was a close one but we didn't die." When Hinata didn't respond, Kiba placed the coin onto his thumb and chanted, "Heads, I live. Tails, I die." He flipped the coin.

It landed perfectly onto his palm and he immediately closed his fingers into a fist. He took a deep breath. "Hinata, I wasn't able to tell you this before and I don't know if I will get a chance to again, I mean, if things go right we'll meet again but even if you don't remember me right now but I need to say this. Hinata, I love you." he exhaled shakily.

Hinata stirred. It was only a slight movement, but it was enough that Kiba felt his heart flutter with hope. She opened her mouth and began in a slurred voice, in a voice that sounded pitifully weak, in the voice that haunted Kiba every day and night, "Who..." Kiba was just about to reply when she said,

"N-Naruto?" and his words froze in his mouth. Kiba smiled bitterly and gently stroked her silky hair. Her mouth relaxed into a smile. "Naruto..."

He walked into the uncomfortable light of the hallway, hands clenched and shaking, though he kept his phony smile on his face until he was alone outside, people passing by him but no one stopping to pay attention. His opened his fist, fingers white and stiff and dared himself to look down.

_Tails._

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I'm sorry for my lack of writing lately. Lots of things have been going on...

So Naruto finally appears. And Hinata as well. I wonder what will happen...? (no, not really because I already have the end planned out. I'm planning to write furiously these few days so that I can finish it.)

Thanks to those who have been reading. I appreciate it more than you know!

Achillea


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Naruto and Shikamaru were already waiting for him by the gates by the time Kiba half-walked, half-ran to meet them. Stretching a casual smile over his face (because he couldnt' cry, couldn't, not in front of them) Kiba approached them. He noticed that Naruto had grown taller, almost the same height as he was.

"Yo, Naruto. Guess you aren't destined to be such a shrimp after all! Huh, you've grown," Kiba said, using his hand to gesture at their height difference. "Too bad you're still at least three centimeters shorter."

"No way. Two centimeters."

"Are you kidding? You're definitely three centimeters shorter."

"Guys, let's get going. The sooner we finish this mission, the sooner we can get our butts back here." Shikamaru shook his head in exasperation, hiding his bemused smile.

Naruto grinned. "Sure thing," but as soon as Shikamaru's back was turned, he stuck out his tongue and said, "two centimeters."

Kiba hissed back at him, "three," before running to catch up with Shikamaru, leaving Naruto staring at them.

"Hey, wait for me, you guys!"

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They had hardly been gone for an hour, and Shikamaru could see that their pace was already taking a toll on Kiba. Occasionally, flashes of pain would cause him to grimace, and though there was hardly any movement, it didn't escape Shikamaru's eyes. Twice, Kiba caught Shikamaru's gaze and almost unnoticeably shook his head, warning him not to say anything.

The entire time, Naruto remained oblivious and also amazingly silent, his senses focused on their surroundings.The war clearly had a big effect on him, as he no longer would joke around or distract his teammates. For this, Kiba was thankful because it gave him one less thing to worry about. His head was already throbbing in protest and he felt like throwing up. As it was, he hid how he felt because he knew that despite everything, Shikamaru would worry too much.

He was tired of people worrying about him.

After a long while of silence, Shikamaru halted, his two teammates obediently stopping behind him as well. "We're beginning to near the border to the Water county."

"Weren't the water country originally neutral?" Kiba wondered.

"True, but a few of the clans who have kekkei genkai decided to rebel and fight. They are causing an inner war within the entire country."

"Well, what does that have to do with us?" Naruto asked, rather loudly.

"Due to its proximity with the Sand village(1), it would be very troublesome, not to mention that if the water country did join the war, we may have another country against us. There has also been rumors that the leaders of this rebellion are speaking of murdering the Hokage because the leaf once attacked their city."

"So we basically just get in, apprehend those who are rebelling and turn them in or kill them, all the while keeping our identities secret?" Kiba scoffed..

"In the simplest possible terms, yes. Just a warning, take off your headbands. We don't need them to know we are from Konoha. It would be troublesome if that itself sparked a war, as it would not be considered appropriate that we are taking things into our hands."

"How many are there?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I have some information as to where they are hiding right now, according to Tsunade's papers, but the actual number is not all that important. They are most likely spread out, so as to be more inconspicuous. I suspect that the more radical people would be hiding separately, leading the followers. We should first defeat the leaders; it will quell the overall spirit of the group, thus making them easier to control. Now, in order to do that, we'll somehow need to distract them and lure them out."

"Wait a second," Naruto interrupted, "how do we know which ones are the leaders? I mean, they all look the same, right?"

"Naruto, Tsunade already told us. They have special bracelets that they wear to display their symbol. She even wrote them down for us." Kiba said, annoyed at Naruto's lack of listening skills. Normally, he didn't mind, but when it involved a life-threatening mission, he was downright pissed.

"Both of you have your mission papers, I presume. There is the location of one of the hideouts, and the others are probably close by. Kiba, you and I will go search for the other locations. Naruto will begin working on the first one."

"Why me?" Naruto complained.

"In terms of sheer strength of attacks, you are the best candidate, not to mention your ability to create shadow clones without as much repercussion. Kiba is suited for hunting out the people and he and I can take care of the other hideouts, which are probably smaller. This plan if considerably more risky than I prefer, and much more troublesome, but with our shortage of shinobi it's the best we can do."

"Percentage of success?" Kiba raised his eyebrows.

"Hm...I would say, perhaps 30. Maybe 35 if we're lucky."

"Damn..."

"Precisely. Naruto, you have the map. Kiba and I are leaving it up to you now."

"Roger that!"

"Meet back here when you're done. If we don't come, wait for exactly fifteen minutes. If we still don't arrive, depart immediately. The same will be done if we arrive first."

"Yes sir!"

"Good."

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"You okay?" Shikamaru asked as soon as Naruto was out of earshot.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Shika. You worry too damn much/"

"Right...You haven't been eating, can't even walk straight, are obviously suffering from psychological trauma, look so damn ill that it appears you are going to keel over in two seconds...you're fine."

Kiba grinned slightly. "While it seems your sense of humor has somehow avoided getting dull in its period of unuse, it's pretty damn wasted here. Look, I'm alright. I'll live."

"For how long?"

"Long enough." They walked in silence, although every once in a while Kiba would change directions, sniffing the air.

Suddenly, he stopped. "Hey, Shika."

"What?"

"Can you promise me one thing?"

"If I can do it..."

"Even if I can't...even if none of us can keep our vows, please fullfil yours.(2)"

"..."

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There will be actual content next chapter, not just rambling. Yes, their mission appears quite simple. I'm not very good at thinking up of mission for them to do.

(1) I didn't look at a map, so I don't actually know if this is true or not. Sorry!

(2) This is referring to my other story, called A Promise Not Kept. It does contain some spoilers, so I would advise reading that after I finish this story.

Thanks everyone!

Achillea


	18. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would not be writing FANfiction.

Naruto examined the roughly sketched map in his hands. Although most of the places were drawn in vague scratches of carcoal here and there, the artist had obviously meticulously worked out the details within the camp. There was only one entrance, which was disguised by a waterfall (completely unorignal, in Naruto's opinion, but at least it was relatively easy to find.)

He was close enough to hear the rush of water which, according to one of his shadow clones that he had sent on a scouting mission, completely disguised his own rough, breathing sounds. It wasn't the time, he knew, to be thinking about his old teammates, but somehow he couldn't get them out of his head. It wasn't that he was worried for them, but a lingering feeling of unease accompanied his nostalgia. Out of all the genin teams he had grown up with, how many of them were still complete? (Not that Sasuke would ever be the same again, but still...)

Naruto shook his head, clearing out all his thoughts. There would be time after to reminence, but the success of the mission depended on him. He couldn't let Shikamaru or Kiba down. He had to prove himself, to prove that no matter what, he still would become the Hokage.

He stood up and leapt silently towards the entrance of the camp. The forest cleared away to a river bank and following upstream with his eyes, Naruto could see the waterfall. It wasn't particularly big- he had seen much bigger in the Land of the Waterfall- but the rocks behind it indicated the inside was large enough to easily hold twenty shinobi. He disappeared behind a tree again.

The war had taught him to plan things out, at the very least. If not anything else, he knew better than to rush in recklessly. The pain from the last time still had not completely faded yet.

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Shikamaru and Kiba paused seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Shikamaru asked somewhat doubtfully.

Kiba nodded, though hesitantly and said, "I can smell the scent of five people about three hundred meters away. It's strangely faint though...almost as if there is something blocking it...I've never experienced something like this and because Akamaru isn't here..."

"You aren't able to figure out anything more precise, are you?"

"I can't tell. Damn it, I haven't had time to hone my sense of smell to judge the chakra from this distance," Kiba said, frustrated. Shikamaru placed a hand on his shoulder to placate the boy.

"It's okay. We can get closer still without them noticing us-that shouldn't be a problem. You have not picked up any traps or anything, have you?"

"No," Kiba said.

"We should be fine then. The only problem is whether or not these five have blooodline limits or not, and also how well prepared they are to defend. The camp that Naruto was sent to shouldn't consist of too many of the leaders, so we in turn should be more wary."

Kiba rubbed his temples. "Gotcha," he murmured, wishing with all his being he could drive away the fear that was clenching at his heart.

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Naruto tiptoed closer and closer. Despite having planned for ten minutes, he could not come up with a better idea than to actually go into the camp. He disguised one of his shadow clones as a fly, a jutsu he had picked up in one of his chuunin exams, and sent it in. It returned within minutes, and surprisingly reported that there was only one person insdie: a child.

Naruto furrowed his brows. He had been expecting at least ten people, so why was there only one? Shikmaru had warned him of the possibility of the members of the rebel group possessing some bloodline limit, but even so was it not strange to leave such a young child by herself? He scratched at his head. After a while, Naruto concluded that capturing one member was better than none at all, and he might be able to gain information. It wasn't impossible that the elder members were temporarily elsewhere or even left the child behind. Perhaps, even, another country had also intervened and overlooked the child, thus leaving it alive.

There were a lot of scenarios, but if he did not even try to go in, he would never find out the answer. With that, Naruto stood up. Ready or not, it was too late for him to look back.

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"How is it?" Shikamaru voiced after the two carefully made sure they had not been noticed.

"The scent hasn't gotten any stronger," Kiba said, "in fact, it almost seems weaker. I can't quite explain it, but there's definitely something wrong."

"Not only that, but this area is strangely quiet," Shikamaru observed. "Listen, you can't hear the sound of water at all."

Kiba pricked his ears and with a start, noticed that Shikamaru was correct. When they had been with Naruto, the sound of running water was everywhere, but now it as if everything had come to a standstill. He tried focusing his chakra to his nose again, only to find that the scent had completely vanished altogether.

"It's...gone," he said in disbelief, "the scent...it's completely vanished. Have we been tricked?"

Shikamaru did not answer, but his eyes were narrowed in concentration. Suddenly, Kiba slapped himself. "Damnit, and we left Naruto by himself. It has to be a trap- they purposely led us away from the main camp. We have to hurry. Damn!"

"Wait," Shikamaru ordered and out of habit Kiba immediately stopped, even in his panic. "Look, the twigs on the ground are still wet. There's no mistake."

"So what...?"

"They're just hiding from us, but there are definitely people here." Shikamaru shut his eyes for a moment. _Damn...what's going on...?_

"Kiba," he said

"Yes?"

"I want you to turn back now and find Naruto immediately."

Kiba raised an eyebrow, "Why now? I thought you said that there are rebels here."

"I can handle things here," Shikamaru said gravely, "but I'm willing to bet that even with his unpredictable skills, we've left Naruto with more than he can chew." He hoped Kiba did not see his hands trembling as he lept away. He had somewhat predicted this would happen, but even he did not know how far the rebels would go to capture the kyuubi. They were good at planning, he could admit that. Naruto may be among the best of shinobi when he wanted to be, but he was not capable of reading the opponent's thoughts and that meant he could be easily tricked. Shikamaru hoped that it was not the case this time.

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Finally, another chapter. I have somewhat lost inspiration with this story, but I'll definitely finish it.

I'm sorry this chapter did not contain much action either, but I just was having trouble writing any. I do know what will happen from now on more or less, so it should be fine.

Achillea

P.S. Naruto is not one of my well-liked characters so writing this about him slightly more difficult


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